Alonso: “Our goal is clear – we want to win in Zaporozhye and book a Final 4 spot“

Raul Alonso

After PPD Zagreb managed to officially become first 2020 SEHA – Gazprom League Final 4 tournament participants on Wednesday, Meshkov and Motor will on Thursday (18.00 local time) in Zaporozhye fight for the second Final 4 ticket. Everything is still very open after their premier encounter in Brest where Meshkov managed to reach 30:28 win and both sides are well aware of that.

Belarusians have already managed to defeat Motor Zaporozhye three times this season and it will be interesting to see, since this will be their last encounter of the season, whether coach Alonso and his guys will finish the season with a 4-0 score against Ukrainians or will Motor, led by new coach Gintaras Savunikas, finally find a way to come out on top against Meshkov Brest.

A great match is without doubt upon us so make sure not to miss it. The encounter will be broadcasted on Arena Sport channels, BLR TV (Belarus), X Sport (Ukraine) and VKontakte (Russia, Belarus).

Gintaras Savukinas, Motor Zaporozhye coach:
We’ve done a good job in the first game but the result is still not in our favor. I think my players felt like they could have delivered an even better performance in the first leg and I hope we’ll show that on Thursday. We must stick with our plans, especially on the defensive side of the court where we have to work with our goalkeeper. We’ll have to play on a higher level in order to reach a positive result in this one.

Oleksii Ganchev, Motor Zaporozhye player:
We’re working hard on fixing mistakes we’ve been making in the premier encounter. We’ll do our best to deliver an even better outing, improve in every aspect of the game. We’re hoping for a positive outcome. All guys are working really hard and new coach is doing his best to introduce all of his ideas and innovations. We’re working hard and good together and we’ll keep up the same tempo.

Raul Alonso, Meshkov Brest coach:
Our goal is clear – we want to qualify for the final tournament and we are flying to Zaporozhye to deliver a strong performance and secure victory. It will not be easy, Motor have a good team but we are well-prepared for this one. I expect this to be a great fight. 

Alexander Shkurinskiy, Meshkov Brest player:
I think the game will be difficult, intense. Both teams have a chance to qualify for the final tournament and we really want to do it. We are going to Zaporozhye to win the match. I hope we’ll end up reaching Final 4.