"It was a very interesting game": Popovic and Prokopenko reflect after the match against Temp-SUMZ

Zenit-2 head coach Oliver Popovic shared his thoughts after the second game of the Fonbet Super League semifinal series against Temp-SUMZ (85:78).

— Congratulations to Temp on the win. I think if Zenit-2 had won today, it would have been well deserved. We played a solid game. This kind of loss is typical. On one side, you had an experienced team, and on the other — a young team like ours. At the end, when we had a chance to win in the fourth quarter, we just made childish mistakes and allowed easy points from Temp. I can say the attitude was good. And I think it was a very interesting game — both from Temp and Zenit-2. We fought, but like I said, this is typical of how an experienced team plays the end of the game. That’s probably why they won.

— What will be your team’s mindset for the home game?

— The mindset will be the same as it was here. Honestly, our offense didn’t work very well in the first game. And both then and today, we had too many turnovers. Today, our shot selection and decision-making at the end were poor. But the mindset will definitely be the same as it was here. We’ll try to win. We have a young team, but the attitude will be strong.

Zenit-2 guard Ivan Prokopenko also summed up the match in Revda. In the game, he set a new career high by scoring 27 points.

— We just didn't have enough strength in the end today. But overall, we played well. Am I satisfied with the team’s game? The energy — I want to highlight the energy today. And we fought more than last time. But as you can see, in the end, it still wasn’t enough."