Sergey Karasev: "Today was a game of character"

Zenit forward Sergey Karasev reflected on the game against Lokomotiv Kuban, in which the Blue-White-Sky Blues secured a 64:61 victory and doubled their lead in the VTB United League bronze-medal series (2-0).

— First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to the fans for coming out. Their support means a lot to us. Especially now, when we have a few injuries in the team and are at a crucial stage of the season. It’s not the stage we had hoped to be in, of course, but medals have always been important for Saint Petersburg. Thank you to everyone for supporting us and pushing us forward.

As for the game, today was a battle of character. I wouldn’t say there was any outstanding basketball from either us or Loko. It was simply a hard-fought, physical game. Perhaps luck smiled on us a little again in the closing moments. Everyone wanted to win, everyone fought, and everyone gave 100 percent. That’s why we got this result.

— Today, your three-point shooting percentage was, to put it mildly, not great. Zenit made only two shots from beyond the arc. What do you attribute that to? And overall, why was the game so low-scoring?

— We’re all a bit worn out right now. Since the arrival of the new coach, our offensive approach has changed somewhat. We move the ball more, we run more, and we play with greater aggression. Because of that, the guys get tired, and that’s one reason why our shots weren’t falling. Sometimes there are simply days when nothing goes in. Trent, for example, got his usual looks and still went 0/7 from three. Those were good shots for him, but sometimes that happens. The most important thing is that we found the strength within ourselves and managed to grind out the win.

— You mentioned that luck played a role at the end. Why do you think that for the second game in a row against Loko, you haven’t been able to decide the outcome yourselves rather than relying on luck?

— There’s a saying: luck favors the strong. Like I said, today was simply a game of character. Neither team really played high-quality basketball. It was all about who wanted it more. How many times have we played them this season already? Around seven or eight games. We all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses very well. Luck doesn’t just come your way for no reason. If you earn it, it gives you opportunities.

— Why wasn’t the start of the game particularly good?

— Loko prepared well for the game. They analyzed what didn’t work for them in the first matchup. We, on the other hand, committed a lot of unforced turnovers. They played their style of basketball early on — fast breaks, good ball movement, and they knocked down their shots. That’s why the game started the way it did. We weren’t quite ready for that, both mentally and physically. But I want to give credit to all the guys for adjusting and turning the game in our favor.

— How much did you expect your opponent to change its approach?

— It was completely expected. After both wins and losses, teams always analyze games. We study and break down our own mistakes and our opponents’ mistakes to see where we can improve, both offensively and defensively. Of course, we expected Loko to draw conclusions from the loss and play much more aggressively than they did in the first game.