Xavi Pascual: "Now it's like one playoff best of three with home advantage for us"
Zenit head coach Xavi Pascual summed up the results of the fourth game of the final series against CSKA (85:62) and answered journalists’ questions during the post-match press conference.
— Congratulations to CSKA for this game. One game that in the middle of the second quarter we gave up completely: we lost the concentration, we stopped to play, we stopped to play defense, we stopped to play anything. And after that we came to the locker room and in the beginning of the third quarter also we were a disaster. So, the game didn't exist for us. It's one game to forget immediately from our part.
— As you said, the team gave up in the middle of the second quarter. How is this possible and how can it be avoided?
— First of all, in a playoff time you cannot be so happy and you cannot be so disappointed in the wins and the loses. You have to keep the balance because in a playoff time it doesn't matter to win by 1 or to win by 40. So finally it's one point. Now the reality is that we came to Moscow to try to recover the home advantage. We did it. And now it's like one playoff best of three with home advantage for us and you know we have to try to see the situation in a positive way and not in a negative way.
For sure we are very disappointed for what we did today within me personally. I knew with that it's gonna be difficult because we have physical problems with Zhbanov, with Shved that tried today to play through injections and it was difficult. Karasev is out. We know that we have some physical problems but the image of the team was not the image that we are showing during all the season. This is the reality. But ok, it's true that sometimes can happen and nothing else. It's like you have to make one zero now, one reset and to go to this playoff best of three, nothing else.
— Who is the local leader in your team? Who should lead the team besides you, and was it possible in today's match?
— I don't know exactly, because we have the captains also, but everybody is trying. We are not one team with one clear leader. We are one team that tries to be like one puzzle, and everybody is one piece of this puzzle and to be together. But for sure today, we were a disaster from the coach until the last player. First of all, the coach must take this responsibility and to make everybody to follow the team in the right direction.
— It is very difficult for Zenit to play without Georgy Zhbanov. How good are his chances of returning to the court during the finals?
— It's extremely hard. This is the reality when sometimes you are lucky or unlucky. In this situation we are a little bit unlucky, but always we are going to try to find the way. I don't know which one is the it's going to be the situation on the game five exactly but in any case we are one team that we have to find a way to win. Nothing else, it doesn't matter with who or how but we need to win. This is the most important.
