Andrey Martiuk: "We made frustrating mistakes"
The center of the Blue-White-Sky Blues Andrey Martiuk analyzed the recent match against UNICS (72:91). About the difficult period the team is going through, expectations for the upcoming trip to Krasnodar, and impressions of the unusual format of the new tournament — in an interview on Zenit TV.
— Andrey, a not-so-pleasant déjà vu: for more than half the game, you managed to keep up with UNICS, but at some point everything fell apart. Share your emotions.
— The emotions, of course, aren’t the most positive. Not that we’re very sad, but we are upset. We fought, tried hard, and indeed, at one point, in just two minutes, we suddenly fell behind by ten points, maybe even more. After that, it’s really hard to get back into the game, and we just couldn’t.
— For the second game in a row, you played almost with only nine players. How is that?
— It’s difficult, and you could even say interesting, because originally, it was one team. Every week our lineup changes. Unfortunately, some players get injured, and we have to reorganize, find common ground, adapt,. And this is how things are going right now. I’m sure these losses make us 100% stronger, because there are so many moments where we need to work and work.
— Were there any moments during the match that were especially disappointing?
— Yes, probably when UNICS went on that run, when their center scored what seemed like a three-pointer, right? Honestly, I don’t remember exactly, but they scored so quickly that… We made frustrating mistakes, like missing close-range shots, just losing the ball, and they punished us. That moment was the hardest.
— How do you maintain confidence after such matches?
— Train, train, and train again.
— What did the coach say after the match?
— He started speaking very aggressively, saying we need to show it and play here and now, work as hard as possible, and then he abruptly ended.
— Ahead is the trip to Krasnodar. Will this match be special?
— Honestly, it’s my first return to Krasnodar, and it’s really interesting to see it, because I was there for a long time, almost a decade, you could say. I can’t even imagine what it will be like to go there and play for another club. We’ll see — it will be interesting.
— Andrey, now a minute of serious questions on Zenit TV. How do you like the tournament format overall? What’s it like to play with music, and how difficult is it to play in smoke?
— Honestly, you don’t really notice it because a game is a game, just more colorful. It really feels like a celebration. The organizers did a great job: the colors, everything is bright, it really feels like a show, a celebration that all our fans love. We just need to win, and everything will be perfect.
— If you personally could choose the music to play during a match, what song or band would it be?
— I recently heard a few Michael Jackson songs and was amazed by them. I even watched a bit of his concert — a guy dancing, singing, putting on a show for two hours. I’d probably play a match to Michael Jackson.
