Against Zenit (95:85), the Lokomotiv Kuban guard became third on the team in playing time (27 minutes), scoring 11 points.
- How was the game? How does winning feel?
- It was a very emotional game. We started off really strong. And that set the pace of the game. We showed the good level of toughness on defense. Vanya [Samoylenko] started, got fouled, but immediately set the tone we needed, so he did a great job. And everyone did a great job for bringing so much energy, and thanks to the stands, too. The arena was probably full today, because they was really loud and energetic.
- Today, Lokomotiv showed a completely different rebounding game compared to recent matches. What happened?
- The opponent probably had more difficult shots, which is why they missed a lot, and we had more chances to grab rebounds. But we still let them make 20 rebounds in our post. So there's still a lot of room for improvement in this area.
- Lokomotiv committed a lot of fouls today. Was that the coach's plan?
- Yes, the coach said the opponent must score no easy basket today, that the coach doesn't care whether the opponent makes 30 or 40 free throws, as long as they don't make easy layups. And I think the opponent didn't have many of those today.
- Zenit began a counter-run in the 4th quarter. What helped in stopping it?
- Increasing our defensive toughness and concentration a bit. And then, not making stupid shots on offense, trying to play more as a team, moving the ball. And as soon as we started doing that, everything clicked, and we, I would say, began to control the game again.
- Want to say something to Loko fans?
- Yes. It's probably hard to support us sometimes because of our ups and downs. We sometimes lose several times in a row. But despite this, we always try to work on our mistakes. That's the beauty of basketball: it's so unpredictable. So please continue to support us. We're very grateful for it now and will be in the future.
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