Velimir Perasovic: «Our priorities are establishing interactions and playing the line–up»

Interview

20.09.2023

BC UNICS head coach Velimir PERASOVIC spoke about the team's pre-season training and outlined the tasks for the upcoming VTB United League Super Cup in Moscow:

«Pre-season matches are important in terms of preparing for the official championship. Of course, we set a goal to win every tournament. However, our priorities remained establishing interactions and playing the line-up. In addition, we faced a series of injuries that prevented some basketball players from participating in matches. In almost every game in September, we missed two or three people and have never played a full team yet. We will be able to talk about our condition in detail after all the injured players return to action. It's too early to characterize our newcomers. I would like to note the great enthusiasm and desire of each of them. I see that all the players intend to prove themselves in the best possible way.

We are currently in the process of building team chemistry. The injuries I mentioned earlier do not even allow us to determine the squad for the upcoming matches of the VTB United League Super Cup. Nevertheless, we are going to Moscow with ambitions. As the tournament progresses, we will understand how much we will be able to adapt to the situation.

Are we considering the Super Bowl as the official start of the season? It all depends on how successful we are in such tournaments. If we win, then, of course, we consider it. If we suffer a defeat, then we consider it pre-season training (smiles).

This year, in addition to the Russian teams, two more Turkish clubs will compete for the Super Cup – Fenerbahce and Besiktas. Obviously, all the participants want to win. Our first opponent in the quarterfinals will again be Pari Nizhny Novgorod. According to the calendar, this will be our third match with geographical neighbors in the last 20 days. It's not easy, but we need to adapt. Moreover, in the second round of the regular season we will once again play with Nizhny Novgorod. The main thing for us is in what form we will approach these matches».

On Friday, September 22, at 17:00, Kazan will play a quarterfinal match against Pari Nizhny Novgorod on the floor of the capital's VTB Arena.