"Finally, we made the open threes": Popovic and Evstafiev on the victory over CSKA-2
St. Petersburg reserve team forward Egor Evstafiev shared his emotions after the Сup match victory against CSKA-2 (96:82). The player also spoke about how much injuries impact the team’s potential.
— The game was tough, not the easiest. After the last match, we were, so to speak, in a knockdown. But today we realized that we can win. Soon we’ll have a game in the Super League, and we hope this victory will serve as motivation for us.
— What changed after the first half, when you went from being down 15 to taking the lead?
— I think we started making our shots, playing more aggressively overall on defense. I think that’s it.
— You hit some important three-pointers in the comeback. How did that feel for you as a fairly young player who is still eligible to play in the Youth League? What was your motivation?
— Overall, it’s all very new to me, so just playing the game is very motivating in itself.
— How much do you feel the injuries currently impact the way you play?
— A lot. All our big men are out, Egor Ryzhov joined us, and that helped a bit. If we had our bigs, I think we’d be playing with more confidence and coordination.
Head coach of Zenit-2 Oliver Popovic commented on the result against CSKA and noted what allowed them to overcome a 15-point deficit.
— Before the game, I mentioned we would face serious roster issues. Two players were injured, Vanya Prokopenko got hurt in stretch yesterday, and Samukhin had a high fever. So Ryzhov’s contribution was crucial today. Essentially, we only had 9 or 10 players in the rotation. Congratulations to the guys on the win. For me, every game is important, especially against an opponent like CSKA-2. They did well to win. I think after a rough end to the first half, the second half was solid.
— What did you change in offense or defense after the first half to turn the 15-point deficit into a positive result?
— Nothing major. The idea was the same. In the first half, we had 14 turnovers, but only six in the second, and we made fewer defensive mistakes. And, finally, we hit the open shots from beyond the arc. We started with three in a row, so that was good. We’d been struggling with our three-point percentage in recent games. Today, I think it was a bit over 40%. CSKA-2 also shot well — 47%, but we really needed those shots to fall.
— In the first half, you didn’t take many long-range shots, but in the second, starting with Daniil Aksenov, it seemed everything was going in. Was that a strategy change at halftime?
— That was actually the plan in the first half as well, but we just passed up on clean looks for some reason. I’m not sure why — maybe a lack of confidence. Yes, we started well, got a rhythm, and took those shots. The idea stayed the same; it just didn’t work in the first half.
