Georgy Zhbanov: "With the new coach, our defense has become even tougher"

Zenit forward Georgy Zhbanov shared his comments after the home victory over MBA-MAI (84:74) in the 27th round of the VTB United League regular season. In today’s game, he recorded 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals.

— Congratulations to Zenit on the win. We started with energy and executed our plan. In the second and third quarters, we lost focus, but we found the strength to get back on the winning track in the fourth and finished with a victory.

— There was a lot of fighting and contact in the game. Probably a pleasant situation for you, since you enjoy competing physically. How do you explain the high number of fouls and the level of contact?

— Yes, thanks to the referees for letting us fight. We like it, we do it. With the arrival of the new coach, our defense has become even tougher, which explains the result.

— Today you were flying all over the court, both literally and figuratively. How do you feel? Did all the falls end safely?

— I feel great, everything ended well, and I’m happy to play this kind of basketball.

— You mentioned losing focus in the second quarter. What was the reason?

— We believed too early that we had already won the game.

— Did you start playing more softly?

— Probably, yes. We believed in victory too early and paid the price with a slightly tense ending.