Interview

Vsevolod Ishchenko: “Aggressive defense on their half helped us win”

The 19-year-old forward was very good against Beşiktaş – he scored 13 points, made 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block shot.
In terms of stats, you are one of the best in Loko this evening. How would you rate your performance against Beşiktaş?
Glad that I scored some open shots. But a little unhappy that I let the opponent in on defense several times in overtime. But overall, of course, my emotions are positive.
At Supercup, you played against CSKA and Beşiktaş. Which opponent was more difficult for you?
Beşiktaş, because I played much more time with them than with CSKA. Plus the clutch today was very tense, and there was overtime also.
How did you manage to win back 10 points in less than 2 minutes at the very end?
Thanks to aggressive defense on their half. We made them do a couple of turnovers, BJ [Johnson] scored a couple of really tough throws, and that probably knocked Beşiktaş' confidence down. We, on the other hand, got a boost.
What did you learn from participating in the Supercup?
You always have to be 100% focused because if you relax even a little bit, opponents of that level punish you immediately.
Can you call yourself one of the main team guys already?
In terms of relationships – definitely, yes. In terms of mutual understanding during the game, I still have to work a lot.
There is only a week left until the start of the VTB United league. What are you expecting from the game with Yenisei on September 22?
I expect our victory. And good team play – the same as today in the second half of the game against Beşiktaş.
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