The Zenit farm team loses in their first Cup match

At the stage of the 1/16 finals of the Winline Cup of Russia, fate immediately brought the second team of St. Petersburg with a principal rival — CSKA-2. The first game of this confrontation took place today at the Dynamo Sports Palace.

Zenit’s blue-whites team started with guards Daniil Aksenov and Artem Khodorich, forwards Mikhail Dulkay and Pavel Zemskiy, and Ilya Krivyh as the center. The opening tip was won by the home team's forward, Philipp Gafurov, who then opened the scoring with a precise three-pointer. Several plays by Zakhar Lavrenov increased the army team lead to 7 points. Zenit’s scoring drought was broken by Krivyh, who put the ball in the basket after a rebound from Aksenov’s missed three-pointer. However, the St. Petersburg team could not stop CSKA-2’s pressure, and at 13:2 Oliver Popovic called the first timeout of the game. Despite a couple of successful positional attacks that resulted in points from Ivan Prokopenko, the home team continued to dominate the court, ending the first quarter with a score of 22:10.

Zemskiy’s drive early in the second quarter immediately energized the team, and Elkhan Akhmedov’s long-range shot briefly brought Zenit-2 back into the game after their rough start. At this point, a flurry of three-pointers erupted: Akhmedov's shot was answered by a three from Evseev, and Ilyas Abdul followed with another precise shot. The duel continued with threes from Ermakov and Shirinkin for CSKA. Tight defense and coordinated defensive efforts made three-pointers almost the most effective weapon of this quarter. And who was Zenit-2's best from beyond the arc? Of course, it was Aksenov, who scored his first points in the game that way. Unfortunately, despite a noticeable improvement in their play, the St. Petersburg team did not close the gap, trailing 49:33 by halftime.

In the second half, the army team quickly extended their lead to 20 points. Oliver Popovic’s team needed urgent adjustments. After a timeout, Abdul replaced Dulkay on the court. Zemsky, who could serve as a wildcard when needed, returned in place of Prokopenko. However, these lineup changes didn’t bring any significant improvement. The main issue today was scoring efficiency. By the middle of the third quarter, Zenit had a 31.3% shooting percentage, compared to their opponents’ 54.1%. Heading into the final stretch, the scoreboard at Dynamo Sports Palace showed 70:48.

In the final quarter, individual attacks from Zenit-2 led to successful plays by their leaders — Zemskiy, Dulkay and Aksenov were almost constantly on the court, breaking through the hosts’ defense both in the paint and from the perimeter. Meanwhile, CSKA kept the game under control and secured the win. The final score was 101:69.

The top scorers for the blue-whites were Daniil Aksenov (16 points + 4 rebounds + 3 assists), Ilya Krivyh (12 points + 5 rebounds + 1 assist + 1 steal), Pavel Zemskiy (11 points + 8 rebounds + 1 block) and Mikhail Dulkay (11 points + 4 rebounds + 2 assists + 1 steal + 1 block).

The return match of the 1/16 finals of the Winline Russian Cup will take place on November 6 in Saint Petersburg, starting at 19:00 local time. Entry for all fans is free.

In the break between the cup games, Oliver Popovic’s team will play two home games in the Super League. On October 29, they will face Chelbasket, and on November 1, they will play against Magnitogorsk Metallurg. All matches will be held at the Zenit Basketball Academy (Severnaya Road, 12).