Andrey Martiuk — about the upcoming game against UNICS
— Andrey, the team just had nearly two weeks without games. How did you spend the break?
— I had a great weekend with my family — my wife and my son. We went outside the city, visited a banya, saw some alpacas, and enjoyed the fresh pine air. Those couple of days helped us reset, and then we got back to work. It was exactly the kind of recharge we needed.
After that, we returned to practice with renewed energy. In some ways, this stretch felt like a mini preseason camp. Honestly, I’m really happy with the way we trained and used this time.
— When Dejan Radonjić took over, Zenit had a very packed schedule of home games, followed by a tough road trip to the Urals. Would you say this break helped the team better understand the new coach’s philosophy?
— Fortunately for us, that stretch included a series of home games rather than road games, which helped a lot after the coach arrived. During the break we had more time to practice, and the coach was able to put more emphasis on his philosophy and his vision of the game. I think we’re ready, and if we stick to that plan, we can achieve very good results.
— The team is heading to Kazan. The last time Zenit faced UNICS was back in December. What can you say about the opponent in their current form?
— To be honest, I haven’t watched many of their games — we’ve had plenty of our own to focus on. But we’ve played them many times before, so we know what to expect. It’s going to be a very physical game: a lot of battles, a lot of contact, everything right on the edge of a foul.
