Zenit-2 will play against Irkut at home

After the victory over the leader of the regular season, the farm team of the blue-whites faces another important and challenging game against a mid-table opponent, the basketball club Irkut.

At the moment, the team from Irkutsk is in 8th place in the Fonbet Super League 2024/25 standings. Nikolay Shmanov's squad have secured 4 wins and suffered 5 losses. Their most recent game, the first after the FIBA international break, ended with an away victory over Grozny’s Dynamo with a score of 78:87. The hero of that game was forward Andrey Savrasov, who scored 27 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

Looking at the statistics, Irkutsk is among the top five highest-scoring teams in the league, averaging 78.8 points per game, and boasts the best free-throw percentage — 79.9%. From beyond the arc, the visitors also show impressive accuracy, converting 33.7% of their three-point attempts. Only Zenit-2 and Chelbasket have a higher percentage of long-range shots, both at 35.1%.

Sunday’s game will mark the first meeting between these teams since the quarterfinal series last season, in which the St. Petersburg side won all three matches. The overall head-to-head record stands at 4:3 in favor of Zenit-2.

Zenit-2 head coach Oliver Popovic on the game against Irkut:

Irkut is a good team, they play fast, take a lot of three-point shots, and excel in transitions. We are the favorites, especially as the home team. But we have to justify that role on the court, particularly in defense. I invite all fans to the game to help our players secure a victory tomorrow.

The game will take place on December 1 at the Basketball Academy (Severnaya Road, 12). Start is at 18:00 St. Petersburg time. Admission is free, and a live broadcast of the match will be available on the Russian Basketball Federation website.