Zenit-2 secures victory over Khimki in a tough finish

Zenit-2 defeated Khimki on the road in the 15th round of the FONBET Super League regular season. The Blue-White-Sky Blues led for most of the game, but in the final quarter, the home team managed to bring the match into a clutch situation. Today’s 80:82 victory became Zenit’s farm team’s first ever win against Khimki.

The starting lineup for Zenit-2 against the yellow-blues included Daniil Ginko, Egor Evstafiev, Vladislav Samukhin, Dmitry Rodionov, and Ilyas Abdul.

At the start, both teams exchanged successful three-pointers and then alternated in taking the lead. One team would surge ahead, then the other, until midway through the quarter when the Blue-White-Sky Blues gradually began to seize control. Rodionov and Dulkay were effective from long range, while Prokopenko and Ginko scored on layups. By the end of the first ten minutes, Khimki had erased the deficit and even briefly took the lead, but the quarter ended with a minimal difference — 23:24 in favor of Zenit-2.

After a short break, the Petersburg team confirmed their claim to victory: Krivykh dominated in the paint, and Evstafiev and Rodionov continued hitting from beyond the arc. However, the yellow-blues’ high three-point shooting percentage kept them within one possession for a while. The teams could have gone into halftime in a close battle, but in the last minute, Evstafyiv hit another three-pointer, and Krivykh scored on a drive, giving his team a comfortable lead — 41:48.

During the third quarter, Zenit’s farm team extended their advantage, at times reaching 14 points. Oliver Popovic’s team successfully contained their opponents while remaining active offensively. Heading into the final quarter, the Blue-White-Sky Blues led 56:66.

In the last ten minutes, Khimki immediately launched a comeback. Nine points from former Zenit player Maxim Karvanen, along with successful free throws and fast breaks, allowed the yellow-blues to cut the deficit to just one point in five minutes. The ending was extremely tense: the lead changed hands multiple times, but the victory ultimately stayed with Zenit. For the first time in 14 head-to-head matches, the Petersburg team defeated Khimki — 80:82.

The top performers for Zenit-2 today were Ivan Prokopenko (21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist), Egor Evstafiev (18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals), and Daniil Ginko (10 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal).

Oliver Popovic’s squad will next play in the Gazprombank Russian Cup. The second leg of the quarterfinal against Pari NN will take place on January 28 in Nizhny Novgorod. The game will start at 19:00 Petersburg time.