Andrey Martiuk: "I thank the coaching staff and my teammates"

Blue-White-Sky Blues center Andrey Martiuk summed up the home game of the VTB United League against Samara in an interview with Zenit TV. The match ended in a crushing 113:52 victory.

— How important was it to show such confident basketball in the debut game under the new coach?

— It’s always important to show that kind of basketball, and especially now, when we have a new coach. The requirement is to play all 40 minutes and be aggressive on defense. The coach emphasizes defense and rebounding. As we know, good offense comes from quality defense.

— Today everyone got their minutes and scored points. How important is that?

— It’s nice that everyone plays and everyone scores. There were a lot of passes and ball movement. It’s enjoyable both for the team and for the fans who support us.

— Zenit achieved its biggest win over Samara in club history, and you had a productive game — 21 points, your best result for the club. How do you assess your own performance?

— I rate it very highly. I thank the coaching staff and I’m grateful to my teammates who found me with passes. All that was left was to finish.

— How much can such a confident start help with adapting to the new coach’s ideas?

— I think we’ll adapt quickly.

— What makes Enisey — our next opponent — dangerous?

— They have good big men and good ball movement. We need to stop the ball movement and control the rebounding.

— Take this opportunity to invite the fans to the game on Wednesday.

— I invite our beloved fans to the match. We’re waiting for you on the February 4th, 7th, and 12th at games at the CSC Arena.