Zenit-2 wins at home against Barnaul
In the previous round of the Super League, the teams opened the new season with hard-fought victories. In today’s match, Zenit-2 and Barnaul delivered a competitive game that was mostly led by the home team.
From the start on the court at the Basketball Academy, Saint Petersburg’s lineup featured Pavel Zemskiy, Egor Evstafiev, Daniil Aksenov, Mikhail Dulkay and Egor Ryzhov. The opening of the match went to Zenit-2, which took an early lead with a 6-point run. The first points of the game were scored by Ryzhov with a dunk, followed by successful free throws from Aksenov. However, the visitors soon leveled the game and even took a brief lead. In offense, familiar faces stood out: Daniil scored from beyond the arc, while Egor repeatedly shot from the paint. The first quarter ended with a buzzer-beating three-pointer from team captain Elkhan Akhmedov, putting the score at 30:23.
The second quarter proceeded at a more measured pace. Initially, the home team maintained a comfortable lead, but Barnaul managed to tie the score. One of the standout moments of this ten-minute segment was a fast break by the Dulkay-Krivyh duo. Prokopenko frequently attempted shots, landing a hook shot in one of the attacks. At halftime, the teams went to the locker room with a score of 42:39 in favor of the blue-whites.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the teams exchanged successful attacks: for the visitors, Kirill Gornaev scored under the basket, and Egor Ryzhov added two points to the blue-whites tally with a slam dunk. Accurate free throws from Artem Khodorich and an elegant drive by Mikhail Dulkay extended the home team’s lead to 7 points. A quick timeout from Barnaul’s coaching staff slightly cooled the home team’s momentum, and the game settled down. In this segment, Ryzhov led the attack, repeatedly scoring 2+1, ending the quarter at 60:52 heading into the final ten minutes.
In the final period, Barnaul launched a last-ditch assault, opening with 4 points from Boris Mitkin. However, the blue-whites managed to keep their opponents at a distance — Krivyh responded with a hook shot, and Aksenov made three free throws. The outcome of the game was decided when Ivan Prokopenko sprinted for a fast-break layup after a steal, adding two more points. The visitors no longer had any chance to make a comeback. Zenit-2 secured their second win of the season with a score of 80:69.
The top scorers for the blue-whites were Daniil Aksenov (25 points + 3 rebounds + 1 assist + 2 steals), Egor Ryzhov (15 points + 11 rebounds + 3 assists + 1 steal) and Ivan Prokopenko (10 points + 3 rebounds + 2 assists + 2 steals + 1 block).
The next match for Zenit’s reserve team will take place on October 16 away from home. The team will head to Revda to face local Temp-SUMZ. The game will start at 16:00 Saint Petersburg time.
