"This tour provided good food for thought": Nikolaev, Mordvinov and Suikonen summarized the results of the first CYBL Semifinal stage

Head coach of Zenit U19 Dmitry Nikolaev shared his thoughts on the team’s performance during the first round of the Semifinal stage of the Russian U19 Championship, which concluded on December 20 in St. Petersburg.

— I evaluate the team’s performance in the first semifinal round as unsatisfactory. Our goal was to finish in the top three and remain in the first group. Unfortunately, for various reasons, we couldn’t achieve this, so the result is unsatisfactory. Accordingly, we will now focus on returning to the first group and reclaiming our positions.

— What was missing in the matches against CSKA, Rusichi and MBA? Why such a result?

— Unfortunately, at the moment, this result is logical. Considering our preparation was rather disrupted: some key players were recovering from illness, others missed out entirely due to sickness. As a result, we had to ask players from the youth team to strengthen us. Consequently, we didn’t train together, which made us lack cohesion. Some players had only just started recovering from injuries. All of this combined affected us. Additionally, for a couple of weeks before the tour, we trained with a reduced roster, which meant we couldn’t even organize friendly matches. Perhaps all of this together left a mark on our performance. And that’s what we lacked.

— What areas need improvement in terms of game quality or team dynamics to improve your results?

— There’s a lot to work on. This tour provided good food for thought. Now we clearly understand what we need to work on and what mistakes to correct. That’s what we’ll focus on in the remaining time before the next round.

Zenit guard Anton Suikonen also highlighted key factors that prevented the team from getting more points in this stage of the competition and pointed out areas for improvement during preparations for the next stage of the Children’s Youth Basketball League.

— We played well, gained a lot of experience, but it wasn't enough to stay in this group. We didn't have enough teamwork.

— What happened in the final moments of two crucial games against CSKA and MBA? There were instances where you led in the last three or four minutes but still ended up losing.

— Against MBA, we defended well but allowed a drive, which cost us two extra points. That was why we couldn’t recover. In the end, they defended well, and we couldn’t hit the decisive three-pointer.

— You’re one of the youngest players on the team. Do you feel this on the court, or does it give you more confidence?

— No, I don’t feel it on the court. I feel like the same kind of player as everyone else. It’s nothing special — neither intimidating nor scary.

— What’s the team atmosphere like after such an unsuccessful round?

— We talked as a team and decided that such mistakes can’t happen again. We need to defend and play team basketball. And today, I think we showed it.

— What should you work on to improve your results?

— I think we need to focus more on team play, including the bench, to ensure the bench supports the players because we really lacked that. Also, passing, teamwork, and boxing out because we’re losing rebounds, which sometimes costs us games.

Zenit guard Georgy Mordvinov told how exactly the matches of this round of the Russian U19 Championship differed:

— We played some games quite well, but we failed in important matches and crucial moments. We missed our shots, lost rebounds, and as a result, couldn’t stay in this group.

— How did the matches against Samara-СYBL and Zenit 2008 differ from the losses to Rusichi, CSKA, and MBA?

— Probably in terms of attitude. We approached the game against Zenit 2008 with a good mindset and made our shots, but against Rusichi, we came out unprepared. And the same applies to all the others: we started poorly, lost the first quarter, and couldn’t recover, which led to defeats.

— What should be improved to perform better and show a higher level of play in the next round?

— I think we need to work on team play because in some games, the ball movement was poor, especially in those critical moments we lost. That’s pretty much it — just team chemistry. Nothing more.