Dmitry Filippov: "Guys will do everything to take this season"
Zenit U21 guard Dmitry Filippov gave a comment ahead of the VTB United Youth League Final Four, which will take place in Saint Petersburg on the court of the Blue-White-Sky Blues Basketball Academy (Severnaya Road, 12). The semifinal game against SSOR Lokomotiv Kuban will be held on April 30 and will start at 16:00 local time. Admission is free!
— Dmitry, after the quarterfinals, there was enough time to recover and prepare for the decisive part of the season. How was the training process?
— The preparation went great. It's clear that the team is focused on winning the championship, because many of the guys were born in 2006, and this is their last youth league season. So the guys will do everything to take this season. In principle, I'm also very focused on this final. This is a very important event for me, because I missed the last two finals due to injury. So it's the final youth league season… I would like to finish in first place.
— In the semifinals we face Loko — one of the few teams that have beaten Zenit U21 this season. What can you say about the opponent?
— I can say that the team is strong in the paint, they have very skilled big players, so first and foremost, we will have to battle them on the boards. They also have good small players, but I think if you compare our team and Lokomotiv, we have been strengthened by the guys from the Super League, and together with them, we look more appealing in terms of gameplay.
— Share your mindset. And maybe say a few words to our fans?
— From a psychological standpoint, I'll repeat: the guys are all fired up, no one is afraid of finals. Plus, our roster includes many players who have played in finals of the CYBL, the Russian Championship, and many have already taken part in more than one youth league season, and have even won. For example, Egor Evstafiev and Timofey Vashchenko have already been champions. So in that regard, we are in a very good place psychologically.
I want to say to the fans: we are playing at home — that's great — so we want your support. We want not only the walls to help us, but also the spectators who will be sitting and cheering for us.
