Chief “Zenith » Sergey Karasev commented on the St. Petersburg team’s entry into the semifinals of the VTB United League Super Cup and also told that meetings with foreign opponents are especially useful for the development of the team .
On Friday, Zenit beat Turkish Besiktas in the quarterfinals of the tournament taking place in Moscow, 72:69. Karasev became the most productive for the hosts, scoring 13 points. In the semi-final of the tournament, Saturday, the basketball players from Javier Pascual’s team will meet Paris Nizhny Novgorod. Also on this day there will be matches for 5th to 8th places.
— What do you think of half-forgotten matches against foreign opponents?
“Somehow it’s a different experience.” We know our Russian rivals like crazy. The players move from club to club, but the coaches are basically the same, so they have studied their tactics, defense and so on. And then external teams arrived, everything was unfamiliar to them. We played with Efes and Fener during pre-season, which was also new. And the level is solid, like in the Euroleague. Meeting such clubs is a great experience. “Besiktas”, for example, professes aggressive basketball on the verge of fouling, which greatly helps us in our own development.
— The official season starts next week. What percentage of projected power do you produce in the Super Bowl?
— I think we will delay the main preparations until the start of the regular season, but in terms of dedication and desire, we are close to 100%. (Adrien) Moerman didn’t play for us today, but (Andrey) Zubkov did a great job. A lot of new foreign and Russian players arrived in the off-season, the guys are coming. Overall, a very pleasant atmosphere.
—Are you serious about the Super Bowl?
— It is included in the list of official tournaments. For us, the Kondrashin and Belov Cup was also like that, we treat all matches responsibly, with dedication. The coach doesn’t let me relax and I don’t want to play for 5th and 8th places. I remember international tournaments: I lost in the quarterfinals – in repechage matches, the atmosphere is no longer the same, my hands give up.
— Five Zenit players scored 10 points or more. Good sign?
– Yes. This year we have such a team that we can expect performances from every player, it’s great. Definitely better than when one person scores 25 and the team loses.
— Yesterday, the league revealed the club budgets. Zenit is in the lead. Individually, apparently. Do players discuss such topics?
— Honestly, I am not aware of this information. The main thing is that the organization of the process is correct and of high quality. If everything suits you, it doesn’t matter what the budget is,” Karasev told .
In the other semi-final, Turkish Fenerbahce and Krasnodar Lokomotiv-Kuban will face each other. In the mini-tournament, Moscow MBA and CSKA, Besiktas and the current national champion Kazan UNICS will compete for 5-8 places.
The VTB United League Super Cup will end on September 24. The current winner of the competition is Zenit.
Watch live broadcasts of Super Cup matches on TV channels of the Match holding company, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.
Source : MatchTV
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