Zenit-2 leaves the Winline Russian Cup
The second leg of the 1/16 finals of the Winline Russian Cup took place on the court of the Zenit Basketball Academy, in which the blue-whites met with CSKA-2. Earlier it became known that the winner of this pair will play with Novosibirsk in the next round of the tournament.
Oliver Popovic’s team faced an incredibly tough task today: they needed to secure a win by at least 32 points. This was the exact margin by which they lost in the first leg of the tie. To achieve this goal, Zenit-2’s starting lineup included Pavel Zemskiy, Egor Evstafiev, Daniil Aksenov, Mikhail Dulkay and Egor Ryzhov.
The match’s first shot, taken by Aksenov, missed, allowing CSKA to open the score with a three-pointer from Maxim Ilyovsky. Soon after, a substitution was made in the Zenit lineup, with Ilyas Abdul replacing Ryzhov. Abdul quickly assisted Zemskiy in scoring the team’s first points of the game. The match continued at a steady pace, with Evstafiev scoring from deep to tie the game. However, two three-pointers from CSKA guard Vadim Shirinkin opened an unwelcome six-point gap. Dulkay managed to reduce this deficit with free throws and a 2+1 play, while Ryzhov, back on the court, gave Zenit-2 its first lead of the game. The lead continued to shift in the remainder of the first quarter, ending with a score of 21:22 in favor of the visitors.
In the second quarter, the teams traded sharp attacks. Zenit responded to a mid-range shot from Ilya Ermakov with a precise three-pointer, as Aksenov and Akhmedov skillfully broke down the CSKA defense, and Zenit-2’s captain nailed the shot. Efforts by Khodorich and Ryzhov gave Zenit a brief four-point lead, but the visitors quickly erased it. The intense, back-and-forth play continued until Zenit’s offense unexpectedly stalled, allowing CSKA-2 to build a double-digit lead by the halftime buzzer, closing the half at 38:53.
After the break, Zenit-2 came out strong, landing three three-pointers in quick succession by Zemskiy, Evstafiev and Aksenov. The hosts kept their momentum going, with several solo plays and a few more threes tying the game by the fifth minute of the third quarter, erasing a 15-point deficit. Egor Ryzhov then delivered the game’s most exciting play, driving into the paint for a slam dunk, putting Zenit in the lead. But Zenit’s magic faded, and CSKA-2 capitalized with an 8:0 run, regaining their advantage. Heading into the final quarter, the score was 63:67 in favor of CSKA-2.
In the final quarter, Zenit-2 fought to save face, with Daniil Aksenov putting on a stellar performance, scoring 16 points in ten minutes to lead Zenit in scoring. Zenit-2 took control during this period, steadily building their lead with contributions from Dulkay, Ryzhov, Zemskiy and Khodorich. Despite winning the game 96:82, Zenit-2 exits the Winline Russian Cup due to the aggregate point difference across the two legs.
Zenit-2’s top performers today were Daniil Aksenov (23 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals), Mikhail Dulkay (19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block), Egor Ryzhov (17 points, 7 steals, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) and Pavel Zemskiy (17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals).
The next match for Oliver Popovic’s team is an away game on November 10 against Tambov, part of the 7th round of the Super League regular season. The game will begin at 16:00 St. Petersburg time, with a live broadcast available on the Russian Basketball Federation’s website.
