Preview of the match Zenit-2 vs Temp-SUMZ

Tomorrow, February 17, Zenit-2 will face Temp-SUMZ from Revda in Round 20 of the FONBET Super League regular season. The game will take place in Saint Petersburg at the Blue-White-Sky Blues Academy basketball court (Severnaya Road, 12).

Tip-off is scheduled for 19:00 local time. We invite Saint Petersburg fans to come and support the team in this matchup against the reigning champions — admission is free!

At the moment, Temp-SUMZ is part of a tightly packed group of teams with seven losses each, occupying positions from 2nd to 5th in the standings. Like the other title contenders, the team from Revda remains in the race for first place despite a few setbacks at the start of the calendar year.

Zenit-2, meanwhile, has dropped out of the top-8 due to inconsistent performances in recent months and currently sits in 9th place. For Oliver Popović’s squad, every game now carries crucial importance in the battle for a playoff spot.

After starting January with two consecutive defeats, the Ural side bounced back with home wins over CBK and Metallurg, and also secured road victories against Novosibirsk and Barnaul. Only in the most recent round did Alexey Lobanov’s team fall short, losing 86:89 to Primorye’s Dynamo, which now leads the regular season standings.

The visitors’ top scorer remains Ivan Evstigneev — the 26-year-old guard averages 12.6 points in 20 minutes per game.

The first-round meeting between Zenit-2 and Temp-SUMZ ended in an 81:85 road victory for the Blue-White-Sky Blues. Overall, the head-to-head history includes 20 games, with Revda holding the advantage, 16-4.

Zenit-2 forward Ivan Kasyanov ahead of tomorrow’s matchup:

In my opinion, Temp-SUMZ’s style of play hasn’t changed much. They apply pressure throughout the entire game and operate very cohesively on defense, which is reflected in their position in the standings. We need to clearly execute the tasks set by our coach, control the boards, quickly adapt to the defensive schemes the opponent presents, transition fast from defense to offense, and avoid turnovers.

The game will be broadcast on the Russian Basketball Federation’s official website.