The yellow coach analyzed how the team arrives at Sunday’s match against Urbas Fuenlabrada.
«They have been very complicated weeks again, training in groups, with people out of training… There are some players who have not joined, like Slaughter, whose process is taking longer and is not being easy. John we are trying to start training, Oliver Stevic and Albicy it is also difficult for them to be in the game.
“But we have to take into account what we have in front of us. A fundamental game, very important for us. We have to start being a forceful team, with clear definitions in offensive and defensive plots. Fuenlabrada is a team that has strengthened well, they have signed good players. They play with good judgment in the open field, with a lot of energy and strength. They are playing at a good level and we have to make it like playing the last game at home, in this second round. They have strength at point guard with Novak and Samar, giving a lot of assists. Players like Meindl, Alexander, Eyenga… A shooter like Cheatham. It is a complicated game because we are not in the best moment either, but we must go to life or death.
“We are not having much luck, but victimizations are not worth it. Everything that we had managed to hook, we had to get it again. As a block, my feelings are that we have lost identity, but I have one day to recover that degree of conjunction, of physicality, that we already had against Valencia on the last day. My feeling is that of having to recover an identity, and it hurts, but we know that COVID conditions things. There is only one goal: to think only of Fuenlabrada and take a step forward.
“It is something unusual. It’s becoming too common for us because it’s the third break we’ve had in competition. But in this life it is not worth crying, but thinking about what we can do to improve.
“I hope not. The news I have is that Albicy is not called. I hope is not like that. In any case, there are the insurances that each club must claim. In Andrew’s case, I think and hope he doesn’t go because he’s not 100% yet and he’s always training at a slower pace. I am not the one to say who has to go and who does not.
«I can assure you that in my head there is nothing beyond Sunday. It’s a very difficult match due to the conditions we’re in, but a very important one. There are no excuses. Fuenlabrada is playing very good basketball, doing things with very good criteria. We have to give the highest level we can give, and just focus on them, there is no more.
«Andrew has to make an effort to be the minutes that are necessary. In the case of AJ it is complicated that she is, we will see the case of analytics. He himself is now unable to train. Sergi has a contract with us until the end of this week, but I’m still not sure how Slaughter is going to proceed, because it’s a medical issue. If it is not Sergi, if it is not Javi, that is clear to me, and someone will be in that position.
«Artem goes with Ukraine, Brussino goes with Argentina, AJ goes with Poland… And Khalifa Diop with Senegal, but he has physical mishaps and he is just arriving. It is what we have summoned. Slaughter has COVID, and he is a travel hazard, in fact he may not even travel with us.”
“For them it is important to run and play in the open field. We have to try to prevent them from having that possibility. It is a team with good assist capabilities, and that is why they usually shoot very well from three. We have an important defensive job. And we are good when we know how to share the ball offensively, and it is important that we know how to share the ball.”
“Little bit. The first leg is a long way off, players have changed, things have changed… We were winning there, but they forced extra time, they fight until the end, and I like that identity they have as a team».
