Zenit-2 became the silver medalist of the Petrenko Cup
The Alexander Petrenko Cup concluded in the Moscow region, held from September 27 to 29 at the Basketball Center Khimki. The farm team of Zenit finished in second place and Pavel Zemsky was included in the tournament's symbolic five. Here’s a brief overview of the competition results.
September 27
Zenit-2 vs. "Tambov" — 82:79
The first day of play ended with a hard-fought victory for the Petersburg team over Tambov. After a rough start, the blue-whites team overcame the deficit in the following quarters and secured the match win.
The best performers for Zenit-2 in this game were Elkhan Akhmedov (20 points + 6 assists + 3 rebounds), Daniil Aksenov (19 points, 4 rebounds + 2 assists + 1 steal), and Mikhail Dulkay (14 points + 9 rebounds + 3 blocks + 2 assists + 1 steal).
September 28
Khimki vs. Zenit-2 — 111:52
In the second match the Zenit players faced the tournament host Khimki. The game ended in a crushing defeat for our team but served as a valuable moment in their preseason preparation. The top scorers were Pavel Zemskiy (17 points + 5 rebounds + 1 steal), Daniil Aksenov (9 points + 2 assists + 1 rebound), and Mikhail Dulkay (8 points + 7 rebounds + 2 assists + 1 steal).
September 29
Universitet-Yugra vs. Zenit-2 — 80:81
In the final game of the tournament, Zenit’s farm team defeated Surgut's Yugra, clinching victory in the closing moments of the match. Pavel Zemskiy (25 points + 3 rebounds + 2 assists + 1 steal), Mikhail Dulkay (14 points + 9 rebounds + 3 assists + 2 blocks) and Elkhan Akhmedov (12 points + 5 assists + 4 rebounds + 1 steal) had the highest stats in the game.
Guard Daniil Aksenov shared his emotions about the recent competition:
The cup had a pretty interesting format. Three days of games in a row is not easy, especially when you have less than 24 hours to recover. But this is ‘preseason,’ and besides the basketball aspects, we’re training our bodies and character.
We can consider this cup a success since we won two out of three games in the clutch, and in the first match, we came back from a -17 deficit. The only thing we are all unhappy with is the game against "Khimki." We just fell apart as a team. That should never happen. No matter what happens on the court, we must be players who don’t crumble under pressure but, on the contrary, embrace it and play confidently under it. But we have many young players, and for some, it’s their first season in the Super League. They will gradually get used to the contact and pace here. Plus, the roster has changed, and we are getting to know each other. From what didn’t work, I’ll repeat that we failed to impose a fight against the more experienced opponents from Khimki. But it's good that it’s still the ‘preseason.’ We still have time to correct, add, and improve our basketball and mental aspects.
In less than 10 days, the new season will begin! Taking this opportunity, I want to invite all fans to support our young team and provide the energy and momentum that we desperately need! We are all charged up and almost ready to show quality basketball throughout the entire game! See you at the matches!
