Zenit U21 finishes home game series on a victorious note

Zenit U21 defeated PARMA-M in both matches of the home round of the VTB United Youth League. The games against the Ural team took place on February 10 and 11 at the court of the Blue-White-Sky Blues Basketball Academy in Saint Petersburg.

The first game was closely contested, and Zenit U21 managed to tip the scales in their favor only after the long break — 79:70. The standout player for the hosts in that game was guard Alexander Porotnikov, who recorded 21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

The next match was fully controlled by the Zenit team, who quickly gained a comfortable lead and finished the game with a crushing 108:69 victory. Once again, Porotnikov was the top scorer for the Blue-White-Sky Blues — 23 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.

At the moment, Zenit’s youth team is in 2nd place in the league standings, having won 32 out of 36 games.

Roman Knyazev, Zenit U21 head coach:

We knew that PARMA-M tries to establish strong contact. One of our goals was to adapt to this immediately and not lose in individual matchups. In addition, the opponent has excellent shooters, and we didn’t want to give them space or let them find their rhythm. Overall, it worked out, except for a few mistakes we made due to lack of communication. Looking at all four games in the last rounds, it’s encouraging that we have improved our offense, made fewer mistakes in attack, and are converting our scoring opportunities.

The Blue-White-Sky Blues will play their next matches on the road — on February 17 and 18, Zenit U21 will face Nizhny Novgorod-Meshchersky. Both games will start at 12:00 Saint Petersburg time.