Trent Frazier: "After so many games, you already know what toothpaste the opponent uses"

Zenit captain Trent Frazier shared his thoughts ahead of Game 7 of the VTB League semifinal against UNICS and explained whether the teams can still surprise each other in their 14th head-to-head meeting of the season. The game will take place tomorrow, May 28, in Kazan, and will tip off at 19:00 St. Petersburg time.

— Do you have a plan or a secret for mentally preparing for Game 7 of the series?

— There's no secret. If you know basketball, you know the history behind Game 7. It's just the team that's going to go out there and want it more, play harder, play more physical, be mentally ready for 40 minutes — that team is going to win. I think we need to go into the game and assert that. We have to demand of ourselves, everyone has to be ready to go there and have a fight for 40 minutes and be ready to win. We know it's not going to be easy. We just have to go there on the road and take it. So that's really the game plan. There's no secret. It's Game 7. It's all about our effort, and we need to go there and be ready for that.

— Looking at the whole season, this will be your 14th meeting across all competitions. Can UNICS or Zenit still surprise each other?

— When you play a team that many times, you know what kind of toothpaste they're using. We've been playing each other a lot this year, like you said, 14 match. So this game is going to come down to who wants it more, who's going to play harder. It's going to be a fight for 40 minutes. We need to be mentally and physically prepared to go there, bring a lot of contact from the jump ball, play together, have fun also, but be ready to have a fight for 40 minutes.