Trent Frazier: "You just have to be tough, and tonight we weren't"

Zenit guard Trent Frazier spoke about the 17th round away game of the VTB United League regular season against UNICS, in which the Blue-White-Sky Blues lost 88:75.

— We showed a lot of character starting the game the way we did. Being able to withstand those negative points with them going up in the first half. Like I said, I thought we did a good job stopping the bleeding, containing it, and coming back and fighting a little harder. Coach talked about it a lot leading up to this game. Just not going through two or three minutes at a time playing badly because this is the type of team that plays so physically. It is very tough. They will punish you if you play down to their level at times. So I thought we just didn't do a good job on that side, being very mentally focused, and being able to withstand not having those types of moments. But of course, it was a learning experience. We have to continue to get better, work on a few things, and get back to what we did previously. That's our main thing. Like I said, there's nothing we can do but continue to get better, stay together, be mentally focused next time, and be prepared.

— What changed in the second half?

— I would say it's tough. Like I said before, coach talked about it leading up to this game. We go on these droughts against teams like this, and they punish you. In the second half, we had too many of those, and that's where we couldn't score. We lost our rhythm, and it put us on our heels, which is very hard in the fourth quarter to maintain and come back and try to compete with a team like this because they're so physical and they wear you out. When you go through those droughts, you lose your rhythm and confidence, and it's tough. They made it tough for us tonight, keeping us on our heels. So, like I said, we just have to be mentally focused on that area when we play, because that's what they do. They like to muck it up; it's a fistfight for four quarters. You just have to be tough, and tonight we weren't. They were tougher than us, and we have to be better.

— Neno scored only 4 points on 11 shots. Do you think he was nervous because he played for UNICS and it was a special game for him?

— No, Neno is a hell of a player offensively. I thought they made it tough on him. He got all the looks he wanted on offense. Obviously, he didn't score much, but we know what Neno brings to this team: his leadership, what he brings on offense, and just his presence on the court. His ability to create for the team with his passing skills is very important. Obviously, he didn't shoot the ball well tonight, but that doesn't stop how good our offense can be because of his point guard abilities and passing skills. He's able to draw a lot of attention to himself and create opportunities for other players. So we're not really focused on what he shot from the field. Obviously, he will be better for us. He's a hell of a player, and I think we'll be all right.