Zenit U21 loses in second game in Krasnodar

After winning the previous day, the Blue-White-Sky Blues lost to SSOR Lokomotiv Kuban in the final moments of the second match of the away tour in the VTB United Youth League. The games against the Krasnodar team took place on January 12 and 13 on the court of the Small Arena of the Basket-Hall.

In the first match, Zenit U21 secured a confident victory with a score of 65:81, leading for most of the game. The top scorers for the Blue-White-Sky Blues yesterday were Ivan Vasiliev (20 points, 14 rebounds, 1 steal) and Anton Suikonen (16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block).

The second game followed a different scenario. Despite finishing the first half with a 12-point lead, the Zenit players allowed their opponents to come back and take the lead after the break. The match ended 71:69 in favor of SSOR Loko. The leader for the St. Petersburg team today was Mikhail Presnyakov — 19 points, 8 rebounds, 7 blocks, and 1 assist.

After 28 games, Zenit U21 occupies 2nd place in the standings with 25 wins.

Blue-White-Sky Blues head coach Roman Knyazev summarized the two-game series against the Krasnodar team:

We played both games at a low level. The quality suffered; it’s very difficult to control the game when you commit more than 20 turnovers, most of which lead to points for the opponent. In the first game, we managed to win thanks to converting our chances. In the second, the offense stalled; we tried to resolve plays with one action and didn’t move the ball at all, which the opponent needed. We also lost our defensive board. These two factors determined the outcome of the second game.

In the next round, which will take place on January 21 and 22, the St. Petersburg team will play on the road against the regular season leader, Moscow’s MBA-MAI-Junior.