Rostislav Vergun: "We have to play better in the clutch, otherwise it's hard to count on success in the series"

Press conference by Zenit's interim head coach Rostislav Vergun following the home win over Lokomotiv Kuban (82:80) in the first game of the VTB United League 2025/26 bronze medal series.

— As was said in the pre-game comments, the most important thing in this series is probably to show character, will, professionalism, to find the resources within yourself despite all the physical and psychological difficulties. To go out, defend the team's honor, and perform your duties well. For most of the game today we managed to do that pretty well. But we have to play better in the last five minutes — otherwise it's hard to count on success in the series.

— This isn't the first time in the playoffs that Zenit has suffered costly turnovers in the closing stages of games. In your opinion, what could be behind this unpleasant trend? Is fatigue not the only factor?

— Turnovers are not all the same. It's one thing when you make an aggressive, active play, but another when you dribble the ball for twenty seconds and then just throw it out of bounds or don't even get a shot off within 24 seconds. So there are different kinds of turnovers.

In our case — thinking back to the last three that come quickly to mind — I think we have to, players of this level have to, eliminate those from their game. That's how they show their level, quality, and skill. If I analyze quickly, Zhbanov hit two crazy three-pointers. But Vorontsevich and Shcherbenev missed completely open shots to close the game, plus those three turnovers. From Frazier, from Roberson after a rebound on our own basket. We have to do better. This is probably a matter of discipline. Going back to the end of the third quarter: we were all upset about the foul — no foul call on Hunter's rebound on our basket. But what's stopping you from putting your body on someone, grabbing the rebound, and ending the discussion?

We need to focus on these things. At the end of the season, in these games, they play a very, very big role. Honestly, in my opinion, we got lucky today, so there's not much joy. As smart coaches say, not everything is so good when you win, and not everything is so bad when you lose. Today is the first case.

— This isn't the first time this season that you've been interim head coach of Zenit. What did you say to the guys in the locker room before this game in your new/old role on the team?

— It wasn't a long speech. The situation is actually difficult for everyone. Unexpected. My message was simple: globally speaking, it's about sharing responsibility. That's something we really, really lack, in my opinion. Basketball-wise, we need to move the ball. We need to see the kind of basketball we saw in the last five minutes. There are objective reasons for this because we basically entered the bronze series with one ball handler. Essentially, Shcherbenev — who hasn't played for a whole year — and the next ball handler is Vlad Emchenko. You have to understand that on the other side of the court are guys who have been playing at a high level all year. They're in good game shape, above all, they have tons of confidence. And they basically showed that at the end. They started solving problems better and more efficiently.

— Is Moon's absence due to medical reasons?

— Yes, due to medical reasons.

— Did you stay on as interim head coach at the club management's request? And aren't you afraid that you could be fired just as easily between the second and third games?

— Honestly, I'm not afraid. Josep Guardiola said something very true about the coaching profession: the biggest downside is that you are very dependent on other people. But I'll paraphrase that a bit in my own way: a coach has many responsibilities and only one right — the right to responsibility. And, unfortunately or fortunately, that's how it is. So I'm definitely not afraid. I want to fulfill my obligations under the existing contract. I really like the club and the team. I want things to end as well as possible.

— Not just talking about the last 5 minutes, but all 40 — Lokomotiv made 5 three-pointers out of 16 attempts. How did you manage to neutralize their shooters?

— Do you know their season-long perimeter stats?

— I can't say off the top of my head.

— That's not the strongest part of their game. So I think those are pretty standard numbers for them. If I'm not mistaken, in one of the home games in the semifinal series, they only attempted one three-pointer in the entire first half. So this is normal for them. They know what to do with it. Let's put it this way: in the last five minutes, they showed very well what they can do. If we continue to allow Hunter, Miller, and Martin to score easily and get into the paint, that will be a big problem.

— Johnny Juzang wasn't there today. Can we expect him by June 3rd, or could he be back for the away game?

— He is also absent for medical reasons. Day by day. Everyone is working, everyone is trying. You know, for me, a very telling moment in the semifinal series was when one of the opposing players suffered a very serious injury. He finished the game, he played the next game, and by the following game he was dominating. He played seven games and moved on.

So, I have very, very great respect for that kind of person and player — who take professionalism to a whole other level, let's call it that. So it's good to listen to your body, it's good to do all the right things, but when there's an extra desire to fight for something, that's always welcome in my eyes.

I don't know — we are waiting, of course, we are hoping. But there were guys who played today and were pleasantly surprising with their dedication. Honestly, I had no doubt that would be the case, I'll tell you truthfully. My only concern was how much they could play without having had that much game time over a long period.