Zenit-2 loses in Izhevsk
The blue-whites farm team played an away match against Izhevsk's Kupol-Rodniki as part of the 4th round of the Fonbet Super League. The game against last season's quarterfinalists was the second road trip for Oliver Popovic's team in this regular season and turned out to be hot, despite the cold autumn weather.
Today's starting five on the court were Pavel Zemskiy, Semen Burinskiy, Vladislav Samukhin, Daniil Aksenov and Mikhail Dulkay. After several unsuccessful mutual attacks, Burinskiy scored the first points, opening the game, and the pace picked up. Dulkay answered the home team's first points with a confident three-pointer, and Zemskiy added two more, securing the blue-whites lead early in the game. However, it turned out to be misleading. Closer to the end of the quarter, Kupol-Rodniki took control of the game. Their perfect execution of long-range shots — 4 out of 4 — played a key role, and the first ten minutes ended 22:14 in favor of the Izhevsk team.
A standout moment of the next period was a steal and fast break by Ilyas Abdul, who powerfully dunked the ball into the opponent's basket. Shortly after, the Petersburg forward pulled off the same move: after a steal on his side of the court, he made a successful run to the opponent's hoop. Despite some successful offensive maneuvers by Prokopenko and Samukhin, Zenit-2 struggled to close the gap. When the deficit reached 10 points, Oliver Popovic's coaching staff called a timeout to make adjustments to the visitors' game. After a series of free throws by Kupol-Rodniki, the blue-whites made a small comeback and managed a few successful drives to the opponent's basket: Aksenov hit a mid-range shot, while Zemskiy scored two points with a foul and added a dunk. A late 11-0 run ended with a successful drive by Artem Khodorich and his accurate free throw. By halftime, the team had cut the lead to 38:33, winning the quarter with sheer determination.
The second half began with chaotic offensive plays but solid defense. Soon, both teams traded successful attacks: Lobarev scored two points, which Prokopenko answered with the same. It was noticeable that the home team's shooting accuracy from beyond the arc had dropped sharply, but it didn't stop them from extending their lead. In the middle of the quarter, Pavel Lobarev took the lead for Kupol-Rodniki, scoring the majority of the team's points during this stretch. For the blue-whites, Elkhan Akhmedov stepped up, first scoring with a hook shot, then adding a three-pointer, followed by four free throws and a successful drive. The highlight of our captain's performance was a buzzer-beater, which cut the deficit to a minimum. Akhmedov scored 13 points in that quarter alone. As the final quarter approached, the scoreboard read 53:52, and it was clear that Zenit-2 still had a chance to fight for the win.
In the final ten minutes, the visitors quickly took the lead, with accurate shots from Samukhin and Dulkay turning the game in their favor. However, attack after attack, Kupol-Rodniki regained control. The Izhevsk team built such a comfortable lead that the blue-whites were unable to catch up. The final score was 72:67. Zenit-2 suffering their first loss of the season.
Among the Petersburg players, the top performers were Elkhan Akhmedov (15 points + 4 rebounds + 2 assists + 1 steal), Daniil Aksenov (13 points + 5 assists + 2 rebounds + 1 steal) and Pavel Zemskiy (9 points + 7 rebounds + 1 steal).
On October 23, the blue-whites will begin their Russian Cup 2024/25 campaign with a game against CSKA-2. The match will take place in Moscow at Dynamo Sports Palace, starting at 19:00 St. Petersburg time. The broadcast will be available on the Russian Basketball Federation website.
