Pallacanestro Brescia has won six of the last seven games: “The turning point after Reggio Emilia: we closed ourselves in the gym and decided not to go to the transfer market”
With 18 points in the standings and 6 victories in the last 7 games, Germani is one of the best teams in Serie A. They play a challenging, fun basketball, driven by Della Valle and Mitrou-Long and led by Alessandro Magro on the bench. The early season clouds around the team have cleared and the Tuscan coach seems to have dispelled the doubts that hovered over him.
Coach, where can this Germani go?
«Appetite comes with eating. We are a team in trust that expresses excellent basketball and try to play together. However, the ranking is short and it is still difficult to define which are the antagonists of Milan and Virtus ».
Where did the gear shift come from after a stuttering start? «We reached the lowest point in the away match in Reggio Emilia. That -19 after a bad performance helped us. We had a men’s confrontation talking about values, even before technique, and we immediately went back to the gym. Staying a month without winning gave us the desire to prove that we are not unsuitable ».
Americans have a term for everything, is there one to define your basketball?
«My mantra is“ keep grinding ”that is, let’s keep grinding. We try to always attack in any situation. I don’t play to eat my opponent seconds. I like to use each block to attack. The real strength of a team is not to stop at the first option but to keep moving the ball by overturning the sides ». You are a perfectionist, where can you still improve?
«If we want to make a further qualitative leap we have to limit turnovers. Against Sassari we conceded 17 points like this. It’s not presumption, but that wasn’t our best game. The litmus test for us will be the next two away matches against Venice and Fortitudo, important tests to understand if we can perform far from Brescia ».
When the team wasn’t running, you didn’t make it to the squad. Stubbornness or farsightedness?
“A reason for pride. I do not deny that we looked around and the company had given willingness to change, but this would have required a drastic change of structure. This group was built by choosing first the people rather than the technical qualities. No player was told “you risk the cut”, we tried to make them responsible by talking to each other individually and this paid off ».
Trust in him has never failed …
“I have never felt my place vacillate. I was lucky enough to be able to build my team from scratch and Mauro Ferrari always knew it would take time. The victories helped to chase away the clouds ».
Della Valle is playing his best season in Serie A. Did you expect it after the last few seasons?
«The experience abroad shapes you a lot. Amedeo has the great merit of being immediately available to the team. In addition to the duties on the pitch, I asked him for a role of leader. He is not the classic player who arrives, scores 20 points and leaves, but aims to improve his teammates. He is our best scorer, passer and above all we are seeing his best version in defense ».
Trieste and Naples seem to be looking for a play. Luca Vitali is named. Would it be the right destination?
«Both solutions would be a chance for him to prove that he is still one of the best play in Italy. I think Vitali is a player around whom a team must be built. My idea of basketball is a bit distant from the one where he is at the center of the project. Hence the decision to turn to something else at the beginning of the season ».
January 27, 2022 (change January 27, 2022 | 19:55)
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