Vladislav Emchenko: "We are looking forward to a great game"

Zenit guard Vladislav Emchenko shared his expectations ahead of the match against UNICS. The 2nd round game of the VTB United League regular season will take place on October 4 at the CSC Arena court. Tip-off is at 14:00 St. Petersburg time. Tickets are available on the club’s website.

— What are your expectations for the match against UNICS?

— It’s great that right at the start of the season we get such a test against a strong opponent, the UNICS team. We’ve already played them at the Kondrashin and Belov Cup at the beginning of September. Back then, some of Kazan’s key players didn’t come to St. Petersburg. Tomorrow will be a completely different game. Both we and UNICS have improved. We’ve prepared, analyzed the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and we know our own strong points. We are really looking forward to a great game. I hope the fans will support us tomorrow and that the stands will be as full as possible.

— How did the preparation for Saturday’s match go?

— There wasn’t much time to prepare. Thursday’s session was more of a recovery and tactical training. We discussed and analyzed certain points. On Friday, we did a couple of intense stretches, practiced plays, worked on combinations, and highlighted key moments. Everything as usual. We’re ready for tomorrow’s battle.

— How did the team celebrate your birthday on Friday?

— It so happened that on October 3, our team had three birthdays at once: Alexander Shcherbenev, Levi Randolph and mine. The attention was shared among the three of us. Everyone congratulated us; some offered encouragement, others gave advice… It was great! At the end of training, we were given cakes and took a group photo. The guys even sang a little song. We received heartfelt congratulations together, but of course, the main gift for us and for the fans will be a victory — if we manage to secure it tomorrow.