Aleksander Sekulic: "It was a big test for us"

Zenit head coach Aleksander Sekulic commented on the away victory over Bosnian team Igokea (80:83) in the group stage of the WINLINE Basket Cup.

— We knew that Igokea had some problems before the international break, losing games by large margins. It was expected that they would use this break to regroup and find their rhythm. And today it was evident: they played much better, very aggressively on defense, tough, physically intense, and were very precise on offense. It was a big test for us, for our team. But I don’t want to make excuses or list reasons why things didn’t work out — we must find ways to overcome any obstacles in front of us, and we found a path to victory.

— Could you say a few words about the WINLINE Basket Cup, where you have the opportunity to play in the same group with Igokea, and where Mega also participates? Is it important for Russian teams to take part in such games?

— I really enjoy these games, and it’s great that we are playing abroad. The competition is of very high quality, the organization is top-level, and you can see for yourself how the games are conducted. So we can take only positive things from this. For us, participating in any tournament means a mandatory fight for victory, and in such an atmosphere, against a team like Igokea, which showed a high level of competitiveness today, this win was very important.