Rostislav Vergun: "Our main task is to stop Loko's fast-paced game"

Zenit's interim head coach Rostislav Vergun shared his expectations ahead of Game 3 of the VTB United League bronze medal series and addressed the Blue-White-Sky Blues supporters.

The game against Lokomotiv Kuban will take place tomorrow, June 7, in Krasnodar at Basket Hall. Tip-off is scheduled for 16:00 St. Petersburg time. Zenit leads the best-of-five series 2-0.

— First of all, I’m very happy that we managed to arrive, albeit with a slight delay. Overall, we stayed on schedule and now have this extra day of rest here.

Yes, we were in a similar situation quite recently, when we had a chance to close out a series. We now have another opportunity to test ourselves in this situation and, above all, prove our professional worth. We understand that these are very important and highly significant games for our opponent. Since they will be playing at home, we expect them to bring additional motivation and energy compared to the first two games in St. Petersburg.

From our side, the main task is to stop their fast-paced game. I believe the defense we have shown in the half court always gives us a chance to compete and achieve a positive result. However, if we allow our opponent to play the way they want, we could face serious problems. Everyone is in good spirits, everyone is ready, and tomorrow at 4:00 PM we will try to play our best basketball.

Of course, we need the support of our fans, and we know that people will be gathering in the fan zone at the Academy. Thank you very much for your support, especially during the second game when even more fans came out. That energy probably gave us an extra boost in a very difficult game and helped us take the lead in the series.”