Zenit-2 loses to CBK in a tough clutch
The farm team of the Blue-White-Sky Blues club lost to the Chelyabinsk CBK in the match of the 13th round of the regular season of the FONBET Super League. More details about one of the hottest games of this season are in our report.
Mikhail Dulkay missed today's game, and the starting five for Zenit-2 looked as follows: Dmitry Chikishev, Egor Evstafiev, Ilya Krivykh, Ilyas Abdul, Ivan Prokopenko.
The first minutes of the match were under the control of the Blue-White-Sky Blues. Oliver Popovic's team effectively worked on defense and converted their opportunities in attack: several accurate shots from Abdul, Prokopenko, and EvstafIev, both from close range and long distance, allowed Zenit-2 to make a 13:4 run. This energetic start from the hosts forced CBK to call a timeout. The first possession after the pause ended for the Ural team with a miss from Nathaniel Pollard, while Krivykh responded with two points on a drive. However, the Chelyabinsk team managed to regroup and began to rapidly close the gap. While the guests repeatedly sent the ball into the basket, Zenit-2 started experiencing difficulties in attack. Their shooting percentage dropped, and their actions became more chaotic. By the end of the first quarter, the score difference shrank to one possession — 18:16 in favor of Zenit-2.
In the next quarter, CBK continued to apply pressure, increasing their momentum with each passing minute. Soon, the guests took the lead and began to extend their advantage. Zenit-2, on the other hand, made defensive mistakes, although their shooting was at a good level. The former Zenit player Jan Dodeus caught fire for the Chelyabinsk team, scoring 14 points in this quarter, four of which were three-pointers. The teams went into halftime with a score of 37:52.
Upon returning from the locker room, Zenit-2 came out with fire in their eyes, fully focused on a comeback, and wasted no time: Egor Evstafiev hit another three-pointer, Samukhin made an and-one, and Prokopenko scored on a drive — missing the free throw. An 8:0 run allowed the Blue-White-Sky Blues to get back into the game at the very start of the quarter. A timeout from Goran Vuckovic slightly disrupted the Petersburg team's momentum. However, it can be confidently said that the game continued in an equal and competitive manner. With just over three minutes left until the break, the gap narrowed to "-4", but everything fell apart again. CBK launched a scoring spree, and two technical fouls for Oliver Popovic finally broke the game. By the end of the third quarter, Zenit-2 was down 62:74.
In the final quarter, despite all the difficulties and the absence of the head coach on the bench, the Blue-White-Sky Blues surged forward. With determination and effective plays from their leaders, Zenit-2 entered the clutch and could finish the game either with a win or send it to overtime. However, Evstafiev's layup at the last second ended in a miss, and the match concluded with CBK's victory — 87:89.
The most productive players for Zenit-2 in today's match were Ivan Prokopenko (22 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal) and Egor Evstafiev (21 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals).
On December 28, Zenit-2 will face their last game of 2025. The match against Magnitogorsk Metallurg will take place as part of the 14th round of the FONBET Super League and will close the first round of the regular season for the Blue-White-Sky Blues. The meeting with another Ural team will be held at the Zenit Basketball Academy (Severnaya Road, 12) and will start at 19:00. Come support the blue-white-blues!
