"We started the third quarter without aggression": Popovic and Dulkay on the comeback against Dynamo

The head coach of Zenit-2, Oliver Popovic, reflected on the team’s victory over Vladivostok Dynamo (85:78). The coach of the blue-whites squad highlighted the key moments that influenced the course of the game.

— What was the overall scenario of the game?

— First of all, the problem was that we had a two-week break without games, which created a gap. Dynamo played just a couple of days ago. Dulkay was with the national team, so we had issues with training. Krivyh was injured. Only today did Ryzhov join us for the game and helped us out significantly. As for the game, in the first half, our issue was a lack of aggression. We played without much intensity, committing only 8 fouls. A seasoned team like Dynamo knows how to capitalize on this. By halftime, the score was even, 44:44. In the third quarter, we started poorly, repeating the same issue — playing without aggression. We lost a couple of rebounds, and it was clear we weren’t playing forcefully enough. In the fourth quarter, we began defending properly, made some adjustments on defense, and that’s what allowed us to beat Dynamo today — a very, very experienced team. If you let them play the way they want, without defending, things get difficult.

— What were the decisive shots and plays that led to the win?

— I don’t look at it that way. Every point scored is crucial. The most important thing was that in the fourth quarter, we finally defended properly — how we should have played throughout the entire game.

— Dynamo is a very experienced team. How did you prepare our younger players for this? You mentioned that we don’t have many experienced players, with only a few over 20 years old. What was the primary strategy for this opponent?

— The main focus was on playing aggressive defense for 40 minutes. That was the first and foremost goal. My players know they have freedom in offense. I want them to play basketball and take it seriously. The mindset was to focus on defense, to apply constant pressure on the ball handlers. It’s an experienced team, with an average age of about 30. At one point, they got tired, and we took full advantage of that and won.

— One of our centers, Ilya Krivyh, hasn’t played in several games. How is he feeling? Will we see him in the near future?

— It’s a big issue for our training sessions because only Samukhin is left as our lone big man, the only fifth position. Krivyh twisted his ankle, but he’s recovering. I’m not sure how much time he still needs, but it’s likely he won’t play against Irkutsk either.

Zenit-2 forward Mikhail Dulkay also shared his thoughts on the comeback victory against Dynamo.

— We played evenly in the first half. Everything went according to our scouting plan. In the second quarter, we lost a lot on rebounds, which put us on the back foot. We talked it over during halftime, but we came out in the third quarter and everything started falling apart, even in offense. We lost intensity. In the fourth quarter, we pulled ourselves together and showed our character, I believe. We played tough and secured the win.

— Would you say that Daniil Aksenov’s three-pointer with the foul was the decisive moment?

— Yes, I think so. It's a dot, the cherry on the cake. In his own style.

— What changed in your offense or defense during the fourth quarter?

— Tactically, we didn’t change anything. We just started playing tougher. Against a serious team with experienced players, if you don’t play tough, they’ll punish you. We simply stepped up and controlled their offense.

— How did it feel, as a young player who could still compete in the VTB United Youth League, to play against experienced players like Ponkrashov and Strebkov?

— It’s great. It’s always a valuable experience to play against people who’ve competed at top clubs and high levels. It’s always satisfying to beat players like that.

— How difficult was it to enter the fourth quarter with such a deficit against Dynamo? Did that affect your start, when you were down by 15 points? What helped you rally in the end?

— I think in the fourth quarter, yes, we started to drop off and were down by 12, I believe. But we just talked it out, realizing that if we continued playing like that, we’d lose by 30 points. So we decided to play tougher. We also started hitting the shots we needed to make, and that helped us gradually get back into the game.

— In the fourth quarter, you moved the ball well and hit many long-range shots. Was this part of the coach’s plan, or was it just adapting to the flow of the game? Whoever was open would shoot.

— We were simply taking the shots we were supposed to take — not rushed or difficult ones, but open three-pointers. And it’s great that we made them. That saved us.