Andrey Vorontsevich: "We expect aggressive defense from PARMA"
— Zenit has started with three victories. What is the mood of the team and how is the training process going?
— The mood is great, despite the fact that it's gotten a bit colder. But we understand that we shouldn’t pay attention to the weather or personal issues. We are all focused solely on the game and the team's results.
— But before the season, you mentioned that, as a Siberian, you were looking forward to and enjoy cool weather. It seems that it’s becoming ideal now, isn’t it?
— You don't have to wait for it — it comes on its own. And for the work process, it’s perfect weather.
— What impressions did the game in Kazan leave? You finally broke the curse of that city, where it had been hard to win for a long time.
— We shouldn’t forget that they were without their two leaders Acoon-Purcell and Knight. That helped us, of course. But after leading by 13-15 points, we thought the game was over. In the fourth quarter, there were still six minutes left, and in such moments, you need to understand that you can't relax because the opponent is very serious. Right now, there are no weak teams in the league, and anyone can quickly score points. That’s why top clubs are distinguished by their level of defense. If we want to be considered one, we need to improve our defense, which we are trying to do in practice and games. Naturally, not everything is perfect, and we strive for better results.
Nevertheless, congratulations to everyone on the win. Thanks to all who supported us. There were even people who came to Kazan, and we could hear them. I personally thanked each one of them because we really heard every voice. We appreciate the support — it’s very important and valuable to us.
— Were you surprised by the warm welcome from the Kazan fans?
— No, I wasn’t surprised. I also have a warm attitude towards all Kazan fans and the entire Republic of Tatarstan. They love sports very much — not just basketball, but also hockey, football, volleyball, and many other sports. You can't list them all because Tatarstan is rightfully becoming a kind of sports Mecca, with a lot of sports facilities concentrated here, and they continue to develop sports. I hope that other regions across the country will follow the example of the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, the Leningrad region and Tatarstan in how quickly they are developing their sports infrastructure. Naturally, the more sports facilities there are, the more professional teams there will be, and more children and adults will be involved in sports. So I’m very happy about that and always have a warm feeling about it.
— Xavi said that Zenit faces a difficult evening. PARMA won their last game. What can we expect from this team?
— First of all, aggressive defense. They will play fast basketball. They have a lot of shooters. Even their centers can shoot threes. So it won’t be an easy game. I’ll repeat that there are no weak teams at all. If you give the opponent room to shoot, they'll score, and then you'll have to go into fifth or tenth gear to catch up. So, from the first minutes, we need to go out and fight, and not allow the opponent to do what they are used to doing in their usual games.
