Andrey Vorontsevich: "We knew it wouldn’t be easy at all"

The blue-whites forward Andrey Vorontsevich shared his impressions after the victory over Pari Nizhny Novgorod (81:78) and discussed the shortcomings in the recent game.

— How would you rate this match and the fact that you was today in the starting five?

— First of all, I want to congratulate everyone on the win. A victory is a victory. We prepared for Nizhny, knowing that they are a serious opponent. Especially since they defeated CSKA in their previous match. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, and we would face a strong team game. Naturally, with the guards they brought, it wasn’t simple, which is why the game went the way it did. At one point, we had a 13 or 16 point lead. Perhaps we thought that was it, the game was decided, but you can’t relax against teams like this. As for the start, it doesn’t really matter whether you come off the bench or start. You have to go out, play hard on defense, and help the team. And, of course, everyone has their own ambitions. I think our main focus is, first and foremost, on the team’s victory.

— You lost the lead toward the end of the fourth quarter. What caused this?

— As I said, maybe we thought the game was over. In turn, Pari NN started running and shooting more freely, and they hit some shots, and suddenly it was a close finish with only a six-point lead. We need to maintain our defensive intensity for the full 40 minutes and try not to let our lead slip.

— The next match is against CSKA, a club where you spent a significant part of your career. You have already played against them with Nizhny and UNICS. What will make this match special with Zenit?

— Firstly, I’ll be playing at home. I hope my whole family will come to support Zenit. Of course, you always want to win, especially against top clubs. As I mentioned, there are no weak clubs anymore. And against strong teams like UNICS, Lokomotiv-Kuban, Nizhny Novgorod, and CSKA, you always want to play with great enthusiasm and dedication. But, as I said, you have to give your all in every match, there are no weak opponents, and if you let them take shots, they can score as much as they want. It’s always nice to go back home, but I’m playing for Zenit and want my team to win.

— In the first half, Nizhny made a lot of long-range shots. It seemed we didn’t put up much resistance. Did you expect them to miss, or were we just unable to react in time?

— The opposing team prepares too. It’s not like we gave them those shots. We didn’t want them to take open shots. But those guys are professionals; they read the game well too. I think it was due to communication; sometimes we switched, sometimes we played on the drop, and maybe in those moments, we didn’t fully understand each other. We need to work on this to avoid communication breakdowns. We often got lost in those moments, which is why we allowed some open shots.