The coach of the Valencia Basket, Jaume Ponsarnau, he pointed out that in the evolution he expects from the team to face the final of the ACB League with ambition and for matches like this Friday on the court of UCAM Murcia Players must prioritize “commitment to the team and to the defense.”
“We must become aware that training well and having energy cannot be relaxing but must give us confidence in our virtues. It is not worth thinking that by training well and being good we will be better. We are training to be able to compete well from the initial jump and not make the disaster at the beginning of the other day and all that starts from the defense ”, he insisted in reference to the start of the clash against him. RETAbet Bilbao Basket.
Ponsarnau He believes that his squad has the potential to defend well because they have shown it at specific moments of the season but admitted that they have “always” excelled in attack and that may have influenced their evolution.
“We can be good in defense but we have played very well in attack and that has made us lose in some moments the perspective that we can be good in defense,” he reflected. Ponsarnau, who did admit that “after plan A defensive” they are not “as good” in other plans such as zonal or alternative defenses. “Our improvement must be by always having a good tone,” he said.
With respect to Murcia He said that it is a team “that is in a very good dynamic, which stands out for its physique, which gives it a lot of potential in the fight for the rebound but also in speed”. “They have very good penetrators, they take advantage from the spark and are very difficult to defend,” he summarized Ponsarnau, who also pointed out that despite the absence of public playing in the Murcia pavilion is not easy.
“On his court you have to play with character, with personality, because stamps will be hard and you have to be consistent and we have to play a tough game,” he remarked.
Ponsarnau He pointed out that “their ambition” is to be among the top four, something that is difficult in the regular phase because there are hardly any games left “but that in the overall calculation of the competition it can be”.
“This is to improve our strength and we will do that by identifying the particularities of how the game is played. ACB League regarding the Euroleague. Details are much more important than in the Euroleague in which physical power passes ahead ”, explained the coach, who said that the squad shares the message of ambition launched last week by general manager José Puentes.
“The dressing room has understood perfectly that this is an ambitious club and you have to go out to win every game, as we have done so far. The ambition is to go for it all, but not only your quality intervenes there, but that of others, COVID injuries … but whatever is on our part, we must put 100%. We are in that search, “said Ponsarnau, who pointed out that he sees the squad better.
The Catalan coach was sympathetic to the request of the MoraBanc Andorra to delay the end of the regular phase in order to recover the games delayed by COVID 19 with a little more rest.
“It is an exceptional year and the cases have increased lately. Also Bilbao is in a very complicated situation. It is about making an effort all together and if the regular phase can be lengthened a bit, I think they will be understanding, “he said. Ponsarnau, who pointed out that it is his “personal opinion.”