Zenit’s Argentinian guard talks about his life in Russia, the club’s perimeter shooting and playing for Coach Karasev.
First of all, I am proud to say I have been in European basketball for a few years already. I even forgot the way I played when I was in Argentina and Brazil! European basketball is more tactical than in South America, and most teams are strong, with very deep rotations. Therefore, with so many options on the bench, you cannot relax or make mistakes. In South America, you usually have shorter rotations and players can get a little bit more tired during the games. This is something unacceptable in Europe. You cannot take things for granted, or not fight for every loose ball. You always have to be your best and I am already adjusted to that mentality. I always have to be ready to play and help the team as much as I can, in any way that you can. It is the biggest difference.
I am very happy to be in Zenit. Truth to be told, Zenit made the first offer in the off-season, and I took it right away. It was different from what I did in previous years, when I waited a little bit to compare different offers. Not this time. I took the decision really early because what I wanted was to be calm about my future. The offer was very good and Zenit had already tried to sign me last season. They wanted me for the second consecutive year and had been following me for a while, which is something that helped me a lot in my decision. I wanted to play on a team that really wanted me, so I signed a one-plus-one-year contract with Zenit. That helped me a lot to make my decision, plus the city is great, which also caught my attention. I will tell you about St. Petersburg, but it is great.
Another factor was the fact that our coach, Vasily Karasev, was a point guard before, and not just any point guard, but one of the best European playmakers of his generation. I had the chance to talk to him a few times before I made my decision and he made things easier for me. We are now getting to know each other. Back in the day, he was a scoring guard, which is something good for the team. He wants his team to run the floor and be aggressive at both ends. That helps us to play with a lot of confidence and in that sense, I am comfortable.
Of course, it is great to play with Sergey Karasev and Kyle Kuric, such great scorers, always ready to receive a pass and turn it into an assist. Obviously, it is great for the team, because we are talking about two great scorers and any good team needs players like them, especially with the playing style that our coach wants. We also have another great shooter, Marko Simonovic, at the power forward position, opening the floor. We have scoring threats all over the place and that makes our team better, takes our team one step higher. Kuric is an amazing shooter. I played with Marcelinho Machado in Flamengo, another great shooter that could be at his level, a rim killer. Still, Kuric is shooting very well this season. I checked his EuroCup stats with him the other day and saw he is shooting 50% from three-point range. He leads the EuroCup in three-pointers made, and at 50%. It is amazing, and he helps me to do my job right.
If you followed my EuroCup blog a couple of years ago, you may remember than Facu Campazzo is one of my best friends and that we played a lot of FIFA on our consoles. Not now! I don’t have a console here in Russia. When it is cold here and I have to stay home, I will probably have to get one! Still, we are always in touch and talk to each other a lot. He is in good form right now and put in a lot of work to be in this situation and crack Madrid’s rotation. He is playing great basketball with Luka Doncic right now. Doncic is playing great, you just have to watch the games or see the highlights! I also talk a lot to Patricio Garino, who signed for Baskonia and is in Europe for the first time. I am very happy for him, even when Baskonia has been struggling a bit in recent days, with bad results that led to Pablo Prigioni’s resignation. It is a great opportunity for him, playing in Europe for a great club like Baskonia.
Our next EuroCup game is on the road, against ratiopharm Ulm. So far, we won our home game and lost twice on the road, against Gran Canaria and ASVEL. There are lot of strong teams in the EuroCup this season. We had a good chance to win in France but we were not able to seal the outcome when we should have, giving ASVEL the chance to win it. It is the kind of loss you may remember in the long run, but we have to bounce back and win the next one on the road. We are going to Germany to win, nothing else. We had some injuries until now, but still I think that we could have had a better record in the EuroCup. We have to get better as a team, no question about it.
As for St. Petersburg, I walk around the city a lot and there is a metro station by my house. My girlfriend and I take the metro a lot, because the traffic can be difficult sometimes. I like to walk around the city and get to know the city a little bit. It is also the best way to know a city – walk a lot in it. St. Petersburg is a very cultural city, with a lot of churches and museums. It is home to one of the best museums in the world, the Hermitage. As soon as I have a full day off, I will try to go and be there for a long time!
Until next time!
Source: basket.fc-zenit.ru
