"Managed to improve defensive focus in the last five minutes": Popovic and Zemskiy about the win over Metallurg
Pavel Zemskiy, the forward of the St. Petersburg farm team, shared his emotions from the home victory over Metallurg (80:77) in the 6th round of the Fonbet Super League regular season. In today's match, the player scored a double-double — 24 points and 14 rebounds.
— Overall, it was a successful game. The team won, and that’s great. There were plenty of mistakes we need to work on. Our defensive focus was weak. But it's good that we managed to rally as a team in the third and fourth quarters, especially at the end of the fourth, to defend well and secure this win.
— In the fourth quarter, there was a setback after which you made a comeback. What gave you the strength to hold on to the end?
— Team support, first and foremost. Everyone on the bench was lively. That really helps the players on the court. In the last five minutes, we were able to improve defensive focus in the last five minutes, which allowed us to hold the game, speed up our offense, and make our shots.
Head coach of Zenit-2 Oliver Popovic noted that the majority of the game was poorly played. The blue-whites coach also spoke about how injuries and other factors influence the final result.
— Firstly, we won, and that was the only good thing today. The rest, I wouldn't say was terrible — there were some okay moments — but for more than 30 minutes, we played poorly. Our attitude toward the game wasn't what it should have been. We thought it would be an easy win. Magnitogorsk is an experienced team, and our 'kindergarten squad' doesn’t get that if they don’t give 100%, every game will be a struggle. Some got their chances today but didn’t play as expected. In the second half, we went with the more seasoned players — if you could even call them seasoned, since besides two of them, we have no real experience. With five minutes left, we were up by 10. But we allowed a couple of open shots in defense. Although they were shooting with impressive accuracy, our mistakes were still there. In the end, we barely managed to scrape by for the win, and that's the only part we'll remember.
— At the moment, many of your big players are injured. Egor Ryzhov went to play with the main team against Lokomotiv-Kuban. Did this affect today's result?
— Yes, it's a problem. Krivyh got injured, Kirilyuk is injured, and it seemed that Dulkay fouled out quickly today. So, our rotation today wasn’t the one we practice with. But that’s how it was. This probably won't be the first or last game where we have issues.
— In the fourth quarter, there was a collapse that allowed the players to come back and win. What made the difference?
— Yes, with 5-6 minutes left, we were up by 10 and thought it was done. Then we gave up three straight three-pointers and an easy layup across the whole court, and we committed a minor foul. We defended with absolutely no concentration at that moment. But we have a couple of players who can perform well in close finishes. Today, they showed they could.
