Dejan Radonjić: "We need to analyze the third quarter"

Zenit's head coach Dejan Radonjić summed up the results of the first VTB United League quarterfinal game against Uralmash (78:85).

— Congrats Uralmash for the win. During the game it was many ups and downs. In the third quarter we didn't play, or we did a lot of mistakes on both ends, they played really well. They made a big advantage, we tried to come back in the game, you know, it was a few minutes before the end of the game, it was an opportunity to change the game totally, you know, 76:77, and one possession after that, but in the end they won. It's not easy to play a game against a team that has 60% for three points. This was a key for this game and the main reason why we lost this game.

So in the end, it's 1-0. We need to be ready for the next game, to play better with the less mistakes on both ends and to win and then to continue this series.

— Dejan, you already mentioned that a lot went wrong in the third quarter. There were moments on offense, but you couldn't convert them. What happened with your shooting in the third quarter?

— Look, beginning of the third quarter it was both sides defensively quite good, but offensively for both it was not too many reasons to discuss about good things. During the third quarter they played really good, we did so many mistakes on both ends. We need to analyze this third quarter, why we did so many mistakes on both ends. Of course, for us it will be very important not to repeat what we did in the third quarter.

— In your opinion, will the battle under the basket be key in this matchup?

— One of the key, of course. One of the key. But also we need to play defensively much better and with much more responsibility. One-on-one defense first of all. Then to think about something else. But everything will be important for sure.

— Pavel Zemskiy has returned from loan. How much do you count on this player? Does he have a chance to get more playing time?

— In this circumstance, it's much more important to analyze the game and prepare the team to win the next game. He spent some days with us, and then we need to go step by step, day by day, game by game, and then we will see.