Zenit-2 bows out of the Gazprombank Russian Cup

The farm team of the Blue-White-Sky Blues, despite winning the first match, lost to Pari Nizhny Novgorod in the quarterfinals of the Gazprombank Russian Cup based on the aggregate point difference over the two games and has ended its tournament run.

Following an 84:83 home victory, Zenit-2 suffered a heavy defeat in Nizhny Novgorod. From the very start of the match, the Volga team controlled the game and seized a 9-point advantage by the end of the first ten minutes. With each subsequent segment, Pari NN's lead grew, and the chances of a Blue-White-Sky Blues comeback evaporated before our eyes. The second quarterfinal match ended with a score of 85:62 in favor of the Nizhny Novgorod team, who will now play in the tournament's Final Four.

Oliver Popović, Zenit-2 head coach:

Congratulations to Nizhny on a 100% deserved victory. Today they showed that their level, the VTB League level, is higher than ours. We, in turn, compete in the Super League. They started very aggressively on defense, and our response was softer. Honestly, perhaps we are not used to that level of defense. I mean, our shooting percentages were terrible: 2 out of 19 from three-point range, we missed 15 free throws. So it seemed that at every position they played much tougher than we are used to.

Artem Khodorich, Zenit-2 guard:

From the beginning, we immediately let the opponent impose their game. This is a VTB League team, which is a level above. We started playing softly, didn't withstand the punch they threw at us, roughly speaking, and then it was hard to catch up. What changed after the first match? To be honest, it was more pleasant playing at home because the arena was full and the crowd pushed us forward. Here, logically, the fans were cheering for the home team, and they got on a roll. And our three-point percentage, if I'm not mistaken, was only 2 out of 19. It's hard to win with that percentage.

This Saturday, January 31, Oliver Popović's team will play against Surgut's Yugra as part of the FONBET Super League. The match will take place at the Zenit Basketball Academy (Severnaya Road, 12) and will begin at 19:00 St. Petersburg time. Come support the Blue-White-Sky Blues, admission is free!