The second team of Zenit defeats BARS-RGEU

Zenit-2 won in the match of the 13th round of the regular season of the Fonbet Super League. The game against BARS-RGEU was full of exciting moments and ended with a very high-scoring finish.

Our starting five, consisting of Daniil Aksenov, Pavel Zemskiy, Ilya Krivyh, Mikhail Dulkay and team captain Elkhan Akhmedov, immediately took control of the game and made a 9:2 run. This comfortable lead was maintained for most of the first quarter. However, the closer it got to the buzzer, the more intensively the hosts reduced the deficit, even having the chance to level the score in the final minute — 22:27 in favor of the blue-whites after the first period.

The second quarter was entirely dominated by the Petersburg team. Aksenov and Akhmedov nailed their signature three-pointers while Zemskiy and Dulkay searched for ways to break the opponent's defense and successfully unlocked it. A well-coordinated defense and pinpoint offensive actions allowed Zenit-2 to go into halftime with a 13-point lead — 38:51.

The third quarter was the least productive. It was the only quarter won by BARS-RGEU. The Rostov team went on scoring bursts and was seriously focused on making a comeback. At this point, the trio of Dulkay-Zemskiy-Akhmedov stood out, earning valuable points and helping to contain the opponent. Each player from this trio registered a double-double by the end of the game. Heading into the final segment, the teams were at 57:68.

The final quarter resembled a shootout. Zenit-2 and BARS-RGEU combined for 52 points in this period, delivering the most eventful stretch of the game. However, the Petersburg team remained unreachable. The final score was 81:94.

The most productive players for the blue-white-blues were Pavel Zemsky (31 points + 15 rebounds + 2 steals), Elkhan Akhmedov (17 points + 10 assists + 1 steal), Daniil Aksenov (16 points + 8 assists + 1 steal + 1 rebound), and Mikhail Dulkay (13 points + 10 rebounds + 2 assists + 2 blocks + 1 steal).

Now Oliver Popovic's team heads to Krasnodar, where on December 18, they will face SSOR Lokomotiv Kuban. The match will start at 14:30 St. Petersburg time. The game will be streamed on the Russian Basketball Federation website.