Zenit-2 secures convincing victory over Ufa’s Dynamo
Zenit-2 cruised to a dominant home win over Ufa’s Dynamo in the 17th round of the FONBET Super League regular season. Oliver Popović’s team controlled the game from the opening tip, building a double-digit lead early and finishing with an 89:70 victory. Read more about today’s matchup in our game report.
With big men Ilya Krivykh and Vladislav Samukhin sidelined, the Blue-White-Sky Blues started the game with a lineup of Ginko, Evstafiev, Kasyanov, Rodionov, and Abdul.
From the opening minutes, the hosts looked confident on offense: Daniil Ginko opened the scoring with a drive after a steal, and Ivan Kasyanov knocked down a three-pointer. Dynamo responded with a pair of successful drives by point guard Egor Bestuzhev. Until the middle of the quarter, the teams traded blows fairly evenly, though Zenit-2 remained in front. Toward the end of the period, the visitors briefly lost focus and allowed the St. Petersburg side to build a solid advantage. An and-one and drives by Dulkay, along with a three from Chikishev and free throws by Khodorich, helped the hosts close the quarter up 24:11.
In the second quarter, Zenit’s pressure didn’t ease for a moment. Just a couple of minutes in, Popović’s squad pushed the lead close to 20 points. Precise execution by the hosts kept Dynamo at arm’s length, while the Ufa team did well from the free-throw line. At 46:26, the teams traded three-pointers around a timeout, but baskets by Kasyanov and Evstafiev extended Zenit’s lead right before halftime — 50:29.
After the break, Dynamo found its rhythm and briefly made Zenit-2 nervous. While the hosts struggled with shooting efficiency, the visitors put together several successful half-court attacks, with forward Gleb Goldyrev hitting two shots from beyond the arc. When the deficit was cut to 14 points, Zenit-2 called a timeout. Following the adjustments, the Blue-White-Sky Blues steadied their play and restored control, though they narrowly lost the quarter — 70:50.
Two points from Rodionov and a scoring burst by Dulkay at the start of the final period effectively put the game out of reach. Dynamo was unable to influence the outcome down the stretch, and the game ended 89:70 in favor of Zenit-2.
Zenit-2’s top performers were Mikhail Dulkay (20 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal), Ivan Prokopenko (11 points, 1 assist), and Ivan Kasyanov (11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals).
On February 9, Zenit’s farm team will face Novosibirsk on the road. Tip-off is scheduled for 15:30 St. Petersburg time.