Zenit — CSKA, 30 March 2021

Zenit St.Petersburg – CSKA: 74-86 (+12)

Zenit: Rivers (3 as), Pangos (12 + 8 as + 4 to), Hollins (2), Thomas (13 + 4 rb + 3 to), Gudaitis (2) – start; Fridzon (DNP), Baron (24), Khvostov (2 as), Zubkov (5), Poythress (1 + 4 pf), Ponitka (9 + 8 rb + 4 as), Black (6 + 4 rb + 2 as)…

CSKA: Ukhov (3 as), Hackett (13), Shengelia (14 + 5 rb + 2 as), Kurbanov (7), Eric (9 + 6 rb) – start; Lundberg (8 + 4 rb + 2 as), Khomenko (DNP), Hilliard (0), Antonov (1 + 4 pf), Strelnieks (3 as), Voigtmann (21 + 4 rb + 3 as), Clyburn (13 + 6 rb + 2 as + 3 st + 4 to)…

I would like, obviously, to congratulate my team for the win, but also for the performance and the attitude towards the principals, the basic rules that we have as a team. Overall, the dedication that we showed to the game plan, the huge willingness they showed to sacrifice and help each other, to play against a great opponent that hurt us a lot with their two-pointers, 74%. We tried to solve that issue and couldn't solve it. But the fact that we forced some key players to get out of their comfort zone, it was a win for us. So I would say that the starting lineup gave the boost and the tone of the game, that was great, but everybody that came off the bench was on the same page. We haven't lost the flow of the game and were controlling most of the game, although Zenit made its comeback. They can hurt you with three-pointers or with the quality that they have. But overall, I also have to congratulate my team for making the playoffs, which is the first target for 18 teams that are participating in this marathon. And then we are looking for the second target, which is in our hands: to play good basketball [like] today and try to grab one of the spots that gives you the home-court advantage, which means you are going to play in front of your fans and not traveling at least in the first two games.

The roster you saw over here and the injured players who have stayed in Moscow, like Joel Bolomboy and Nikola Milutinov, are the roster with which will we go all the way for the rest of the season until I am over here, together with my associates on the head of this great team. This is a personal decision because I decided to go to war with the players and the staff and everybody else who are ready to go to war for this team. The players who are ready to respect their teammates, first of all, the players who are putting the team above themselves, those who represent the values of the club that I am coaching. Because if we want to be champions, we have to be champions in everything. If we want to win EuroLeague titles and if we want to be at the top and a great example for our fans and our kids, we need to have a group of players ready to respect each other, ready to respect the game itself. Not just to care about themselves, but to care about everybody. And that’s how you win trophies.

If I do it differently, I couldn’t face my players and say something that’s not happening. So I have to be able to see them straight in their eyes and tell them the truth because they understand really well what is our purpose.