"The mindset for the game was good": Popovic and Akhmedov — after the win over Temp-SUMZ
Zenit-2 head coach Oliver Popovic commented on the 83:79 victory over Temp-SUMZ in the third game of the Fonbet Super League semifinal series.
— The game was tough, to be honest. We had issues with our big men today because they picked up 3–4 fouls very early. We lost the rebound battle — that’s still a big problem for us. We were in the lead from the very beginning, the guys just had the right mindset. I think Zenit-2 deserved the win today. We’ve only taken one step. Tomorrow, we need to try to rest and then play again in two days. You know that over the last 2–3 weeks, Aksenov has been playing while semi-injured. Today Samukhin hurt his shoulder — I don’t know if he’ll be ready for the next game. But in any case, we have to fight, and I hope everything will be fine the day after tomorrow.
— Ilya Krivyh, Mikhail Dulkay and Egor Evstafiev also play for the youth team, and they’ve basically had a full week of games without a break. Does that affect their performance or, on the contrary, help them gain experience?
— They’ve played six games in a row. For them, over seven days, that’s really a lot, to be honest. But what other option do we have? Thank God the youth team made it to the semifinals. They contributed a lot. I agree they need to play, but six games in seven days — that’s too much.
— What’s the mindset going into the next game on April 24?
— Hopefully the same as today. The guys gave their all, a full 100%. Of course, there were mistakes — there always are. But the mindset for the game was good.
Blue-whites captain Elkhan Akhmedov shared his thoughts on the late-game slump. In the match, the guard recorded 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.
— The game was under our control for a while. Sure, there were some slumps, but we held on and won. We got lucky in some moments, worked harder in others, and really wanted the win more. We’re continuing the series.
— You had a lead of over ten points throughout the third and fourth quarters, but slipped late and entered a clutch scenario. What caused the opponent’s comeback?
— Our bigs got into foul trouble. When they were on four fouls, they played cautiously on defense to avoid fouling out. We lost rebounds here and there, lacked physicality in some moments. They couldn’t risk a fifth foul — losing them would’ve been really tough for us. But again, we held on, we’re still in the series, still fighting for the final. We’re really looking forward to seeing all the fans at the next game. Their support helps us a lot.
