Xavi Pascual: 'Zenit is a very serious and ambitious club' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: SIPA – Scanpix Credit SIPA – Scanpix

Zenit St.Petersburg head coach Xavi Pascual gave a long interview to George Zakkas of SDNA in which he talked about his decision to stay with Zenit, the departure of Kevin Pangos, and other aspects. Pascual, who joined Zenit after the end of his experience with Panathinaikos, has still very good memories of his time in Greece.

"I decided to continue with Zenit because this is a very serious and ambitious club. I'm happy to continue here, my goal was to create something new and I think we're on the right track. We wanted to continue together and that's what happened" Pascual said during the interview.

"Pangos? We worked extremely well together but that's how life it is. He decided that he wanted to play elsewhere, to pursue his NBA dream. I should be happy about that. I've helped many players to go to the NBA in the past and I hope Kevin will be another one of those players that I've helped".

Coach Pascual also talked about the important presence of Manos Papadopoulos inside Zenit. The two had already worked together at Panathinaikos and now they're doing a very good job also with Zenit: "The presence of Manos is very important, both for me and the club. From the first moment I arrived at Panathinaikos, we had a very good relationship. We see many things from the same perspective. Now we're together in St.Petersburg and the way we work together is very positive. His presence is very important".

The former Panathinaikos head coach also talked about the current coach of the Greek team, Dimitris Priftis. The two have faced each other last season in VTB League: "Priftis is one of the top coaches in Europe, he deserves to be at Euroleague level. He had the opportunity to stay in Kazan but he decided to join Panathinaikos. I believe that he can do a great job for them".

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