“The main thing is that they didn’t break their noses. And playing with a stitched eye is normal.” — Sergey Karasev

Basketball playerZenith » Sergei Karasev told that the stitched eyelid during the match is no reason not to return to the site.

Zenit beat Moscow MBA in the second game of the VTB United League playoff quarter-final series – 87:60. Sergey Karasev became the game’s most productive player with 15 points. The score of the series up to three wins became equal – 1-1. The third game will take place on April 6 in Moscow.

– What happened at the start of the game, when you were lying on the ground for a while, blood was visible, then you had to leave the field for a while?

– Labor history: I went to the safety net, Zhenya Valiev turned around, did not notice me, hit with her elbow. I immediately realized there was definitely something there, as the “stars” in my eyes were flying around a bit. But our medical staff did a great job with it all. They quickly sewed everything up, were ready to play and returned to the field.

– Stitched up without anesthesia?

– Yes. Otherwise, the blood, it seems to me, would have continued to flow. Therefore, we decided to sew “live”.

– Did you think you would come back to the site?

– The main thing is that they did not break their noses – this is my sick story. And the eye is fine (smile). I immediately believed that I would continue the game. True, while they were sewing in the locker room, it seemed to me that time had passed for a very long time. It hurt a little – perhaps because of this there were such sensations. When everyone was done, I thought it was at least the middle of the second quarter on the court. I return to the hall – and there the same first just ended. Everything was done very quickly.

– As a result, you made four out of four 3-pointers, scored a total of 15 points, and became the game’s most productive player. Has this situation started?

“Most importantly, I wanted to win. Well, there is such an expression – when you are on fire, you are on fire. In such situations, it does not matter whether they interfere with you or not. A man comes to you – you hit through the arm and knock. Your ring seems to widen. Today was such a night. But the most important thing is that we won as a team. And the most productive or not the most productive – it doesn’t matter.

– After an unexpected loss in the first game of the series with MBA, did you want to win as big as possible in the second, or was it also all the same?

– I said to the guys: if there is an opportunity, let’s win with the maximum possible difference. “+40”, “+50” – as much as possible. For ourselves, to feel – we are stronger in head and shoulders. And show the opponent that he has no chance.

– During the pre-match warm-up, Zenit appeared in T-shirts with the inscription “For Peter”. Is this a feature for the playoffs?

– The club made such shirts – I think it’s a very good idea. Moreover, Zenit are the only ones in the league to have offered this for the qualifiers. This is a huge plus in terms of the organization of the club and our management. After all, we basically play for Saint Petersburg, Karasev told .

Watch live broadcasts of United League matches on and other holding channels, as well as on sportbox.ru and matchtv.ru websites.