"It was one of the most intense matches": Popovic and Aksenov on the victory over Novosibirsk

Zenit-2 head coach Oliver Popovic shared his impressions of the first quarterfinal match of the Fonbet Super League. At the start of the playoffs, the blue-whites reserve team defeated Novosibirsk 91:76 on the home court.

— Coach, congratulations on your first win in this series. Can you summarize the game results?

— Thank you, and thanks to the fans who supported the team today. We started the first quarter too softly. Playing against such an experienced team like Novosibirsk is very difficult. The second and third quarters were solid both offensively and defensively — actually, very solid. But as soon as we took a "+22" lead, we started to relax, and that led to an unexpected ending for me. The minutes were supposed to be distributed differently today, but it turned out that some players didn’t play at all, while others played very little. Tomorrow, we’ll watch the video and analyze where we made mistakes in the final quarter. This is just the first step for the team to fight for medals this year. We need to take three steps.

— In the fourth quarter, the opponent made the same kind of run that we had in the second. It was like a mirrored segment. What caused such a collapse?

— We simply relaxed in the fourth quarter, stopped defending, and focused only on offense. With a "+22 lead", some players started to get nervous, rushed their offensive plays, and didn’t defend. That’s the reason. Tomorrow, we’ll review the video and analyze our mistakes.

— The team performed well on the boards today: we had more rebounds than our opponent. Also, Zenit-2 had a good three-point percentage — 34.8%. Are you satisfied with these results?

— Yes, in the first quarter, we were even in rebounds. But they had eight offensive rebounds, which allowed Novosibirsk to keep the score close. Later, it got better, and I’m pleased with that. The second and third quarters went well offensively because we sped up and scored easy points. But in the fourth, we relaxed, especially in transition, where we gave up too many open three-pointers.

— You mentioned that the team relaxed after going "+22". Can we conclude that this happened because we have a very young squad, and the players rely more on emotions than experience?

— Yes, that’s definitely part of the reason. But I always tried to have either Aksenov or Akhmedov on the court — at least one experienced player. But I can’t call a timeout every time. The players must take responsibility for executing both defense and offense properly.

Zenit-2 guard Daniil Aksenov commented on the victory over Novosibirsk in the post-game press conference. In this match, he recorded 18 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 1 steal.

— Thank you so much to all the fans. There were noticeably more of them today. It’s a great feeling to play in front of such a crowd. It gives us extra energy. We’re happy that we filled the stands. In short — winning is winning. We’re happy to have taken the first game. It was probably one of the most intense matches. If you look at the final score, it seems fine, but we were up by 22 points, then let them cut it to "+8", and they caught up. So, we have things to analyze, but overall, we gave it our all and executed the plan. I don’t know by what percentage, but we did execute it because we won. Now, we’ll recover. We want to take two wins at home, and then we’ll see and fight from there.

— In the fourth quarter, the opponent went on a run. What defensive adjustments will you make before the next game?

— This has been a pattern throughout the season: when we get a big lead, we relax. Maybe some players want to take over a little too much. We need to review the video and understand why this happens. Our defense is fine overall, but we make silly mistakes. If we eliminate them, that’s an extra 10-12 points in our favor. We talk about it, we analyze it, and when we keep making the same mistakes repeatedly, it’s frustrating. I think the key is improving communication on defensive switches to become even stronger.

— You had a great game today — 18 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists. Are you satisfied with your performance, or is there always room for growth?

— I’m happy that we won. But in terms of my performance as a point guard… Honestly, I’ve stopped paying attention to my point total lately. If we win, and I can organize the offense so that everyone gets touches and we exploit their weak defensive spots — if that happens, then I’m doing my job right. The coach is happy, the players are happy. There are moments where I need to take more responsibility, and I can feel that. Maybe in recent games, I let that slip — whether intentionally or not, it doesn’t matter. Now, I understand where I need to step up, not just by passing or creating but by scoring myself. The team should see me as a leader on the court.

— In the first quarter, both teams played evenly, but in the second, several of your three-pointers put Zenit-2 in the lead. Was that a turning point?

— It’s hard to say if that was the turning point because the first half is just the first half. There’s still a second half, where a lot can happen. But I think when a player hits three or four three-pointers in a row in the first half, it puts some pressure on the opponent. They have to adjust their defense, take a timeout, and get nervous. So, yes, I think that had an impact on the game.