“We had to learn from UNICS how to play”: Ivanovic was furious at Zenit's collapse

Karakash's reflections after the match with Dynamo and Dushko Ivanovic's hopes from working at Zenit

UNICS's victory in the previous round over Vladivostok's Dynamo, although it turned out to be a rout (117:75), nevertheless left an ambiguous impression on Milan Karakash. On the one hand, one cannot fail to praise the attacking potential of the Kazan team. This season UNICS really has many skillful performers capable of taking a shot in the attack. On the other hand, to concede 75 points from a debutant of the VTB United League, with a roster of Super League level, is unacceptable for a top team of the championship.

Zenit under the leadership of Dushko Ivanovic performed mediocrely at the recent Super Cup of the VTB United League in Moscow. But the first victory in the championship of the new season over Uralmash (92:68) seemed to confidently say that everything is in order with the team and there should be no grounds for strong negativity toward the Petersburg team.

For the last seven years Dushko Ivanovic has worked in the Euroleague. The Montenegrin specialist headed Baskonia, Crvena Zvezda, Virtus. In Italy Ivanovic's last season frankly did not work out; in connection with this the coach surely perceived the invitation to Zenit as an opportunity to return to Europe. To work diligently in Russia and go for a promotion, as at one time, for example, Dimitrios Itoudis (now the coach of Hapoel) and Javier Pascual (now the coach of Dubai) managed to do.

Ivanovic was furious at the play of his charges, and UNICS scorefully punished Zenit in practically every attack

Last season Zenit changed three head coaches.

At first the team was headed by Aleksandar Sekulic, who in the Slovenian national team works with Luka Doncic himself. But in our championship the renowned coach did not get going right away; he was dismissed already in the winter. Then the helm of the Petersburg team was taken by Dejan Radonjic, who resigned after the elimination by UNICS in the semifinal series of the playoffs. And the season was finished by Rostislav Vergun, who in the end lost the battle with Lokomotiv-Kuban for the bronze medals.

The endless upheavals of coaches had considerably worn out the management of Zenit. Therefore the bet on Dushko Ivanovic was perceived as a no-lose one, indisputable. After all, how can a coach with such a background in the Euroleague fail in the VTB United League!

Nevertheless today's humiliating defeat by UNICS with a score of 60:95 clearly doused Ivanovic with a tub of ice water. On the parquet of the Basket Hall there was only one team. Zenit managed nothing at all — neither in the attack nor in the defense. The starting quarter the Kazan team won with a score of 31:13. Ivanovic's Balkan temperament poured out with every converted shot of UNICS. The Zenit coach boiled, shouted, clutched his head. If the regulations of the VTB United League allowed corporal punishment, it is frightening to imagine what cuffs on the head every player of the Petersburg team would have received.

UNICS, on the contrary, played very cohesively, disciplinedly and tenaciously in all sectors of the court. It was felt that Milan Karakash had held a really substantive conversation with his charges after the ambiguous match with Dynamo.

“We had to learn from UNICS how to play, how to act as a team”

We are used to the fact that in a head-to-head game between the clubs of the “big four” even a substantial gap can be leveled literally in one quarter. But the minutes went by: Zenit not only did not come back in the score, but, on the contrary, only reinforced UNICS's domination with unforced errors and turnovers.

By the break the Kazan team's advantage had already reached 24 points. And by the end of the third quarter the score was quite indecent — 80:33. 47 points showed how faceless and idea-less Zenit was on the past evening.

— First of all, I congratulate UNICS; they played better than us, showed a big difference between the teams, high intensity and self-sacrifice. For us this is indeed a difficult game, but it is only one game. The first quarter was difficult, after which it was already hard to catch the rhythm. In the fourth quarter we began to play better, but today we had to learn from UNICS how to play, how to act as a team. They showed real cohesion, unity, Dushko Ivanovic commented restrainedly on his team's collapse.

Yes, Zenit, undoubtedly, switched on in the final ten minutes. The Petersburg team won it with a score of 27:17. But UNICS, to be fair, was also no longer rushing forward so briskly, playing more for time, in an energy-saving mode.

“It was the match when everything worked out for us, and for Zenit — no”

The Kazan team showed classy and scoreful basketball. Both the starting five and the bench players, who scored 31 points in total, performed magnificently.

The match with Zenit in terms of content and quality was practically ideal on UNICS's part. The Kazan team, of course, still has room to improve. First of all, this is stable play in defense, on its own backboard. But the way UNICS acts diversely in the attack, even in the absence of captain Alexey Shved, is beyond all praise.

One clearly understands when watching UNICS's matches that in the attack little is impossible for this team. 21 points were scored by Brendan Adams; 12 points each were earned by Xavier Rathan-Mayes, David McCormack and Luka Samanic; another 14 points for scoring was added by Jalen Reynolds. Practically all UNICS players contributed to the largest victory over Zenit in the history of the team's performances in the VTB United League.

— Well, what can I say? A very good game. Perhaps the best for us after the preseason. What especially pleases me is how we trained the whole past week. We had many good trainings, but this week was really good. It was the match when everything worked out for us, and for Zenit — no. The opponent was not in the best form, assessed the results of the match the head coach of UNICS, Milan Karakash.

The next match in the VTB United League the Kazan club will play on October 7 away against Samara.