Dejan Radonjić: "We didn't play well enough to change the game totally and to win"
Zenit head coach Dejan Radonjić summed up the home game in the VTB United League against Uralmash, which ended with a 69:82 victory for the visitors.
— Congrats to Uralmash for the win, they played better than us. If you analyze these numbers you can see that the second half was not good. But even in the beginning of the game we did some minutes not that good, we made some mistakes. We tried to change the game, but the second half was not good on both ends, defensively, offensively. We need to analyze this game and of course to think about the next opponent, game against CSKA.
— Do you think the second half determined the outcome of the game, or perhaps specific moments were decisive? Because it seemed that the score difference remained recoverable until the final minutes.
— Look, if you analyze the game, you know, and talk about some last minutes, then you can say okay, it was maybe more important part of the period of that game. But for me as a coach, I saw so many things during the whole second half. It was not only also our focus and it was not good enough in the first half. And of course they played a really good game, and this is congrats to them for a good game. But it was a difference in some points, but it was clear that we didn't play well enough to change the game totally and to win.
— Not long ago, Johnny Juzang joined the team and has already made the Team of the Week. How would you describe his performance during this period?
— It was important to practice with him, to talk with him, to explain to him everything about what we need. It was clear that he needed time and now he spent some time with us. He is, of course, better than in the beginning and, of course, what we need from his side. I hope that he will give us.
— We would like to draw a parallel between today’s loss and the loss to Lokomotiv Kuban. In both games, Zenit entered the fourth quarter with a tied score, but then the team struggled to score points. What breaks down for Zenit in the fourth quarter? Why is it difficult to finish games strongly?
— If you compare all last 20 games then you can see everything so it was five games before this game, so, after that we had a game — it was different game. We can discuss only about this game.
— The WINLINE Basket Cup Final Four is ahead. The semifinal against CSKA is already on Friday, and there is very little time left to prepare. Did you keep this in mind before today’s game in terms of rotation? And how will preparation for that match proceed now?
— I didn't think about something else except about this game.
