The coach of the Unicaja, Ibón Navarro, appeared before the media this Wednesday before the game of the second game of the quarterfinal playoff against lenovo tenerifewho won 59 – 72 in the first clash of the tie, which leaves him at the gates of the semifinals.
¨We have 2 options to win a second game that would give us the tie. No I think we have to go to the game thinking it’s today, or we have to win yes or yes, all this can lead to things not starting well, frustration, worry… What we have to worry about exclusively is what we have to do, we are going to find an opponent who has had time to prepare and this game is not going to be like Sunday’s”, assured the compositor coach.
Ibon continues to be just as neutral on the issue of discomfort from Alberto Diaz and Jonathan Barreiro: “They can have a medical discharge and it’s great, but right now we are at a point in the season where we don’t have to think about investing in recovering players, there is only tomorrow, and after tomorrow we will see if there is a Sunday or not there is a Sunday. So, there is no point in thinking about the future, if we see that they are ready, we will count on them or not, because the team has the ability to have tools when players are missing”, remembered.
Navarro is very clear that Sunday’s match will not be repeated, he believes that Lenovo will arrive in Malaga with one more “point of energy” due to the situation that the rivals must give everything to be able to win. Ibon stressed that they are going to find a team “with more toughness, with more success, I’m sure. And I hope that we will also be able to improve some things: the free kicks, the issue of losses, although sometimes these are caused by our style of play, other times it is due to our mistakes, such as the excess of dribbling…”.
The coach was also questioned about the condition of the players at the end of the season, some players that Ibon believes are “fresh in the head, which is the most important thing, fresh in the legs and I see them with little desire to go on vacation“. The coach has confessed that doing physical planning for the team to feel good at this point is nonsense, because he believes that to get to this stage well you need to be well for the rest of the season. Ibon has not changed his style either. speech about the rival, this is the 6th game of the season in which Lenovo Tenerife and Unicaja face each other, but he thinks that: ¨the keys are the samethe team that imposes its rhythm the most, its style of play, I think that the success they can have from the 3-point line is another key…”
Regarding the atmosphere that is going to live in the Martín Carpena, Navarro was cautious. “We have already seen what happens with overexcitement and with that message that you cannot fail, that we have to win, that is nothing more than mental traps, they take you away from being focused, from what you have to do. I hope a great Martín CarpenaI’m sure they’re going to help us, hopefully we can cheer them up and hopefully there’s a party atmosphere, but that’s not going to make us win just because.”
Navarro does not believe that anxiety can weigh on Lenovo, despite its extreme situation: ¨I think it is an experienced team, which has seen itself in situations like this so many times, I don’t think so. I insist, I don’t think they’re in a mental position to say: it’s a failure if we don’t win. This is a tie in which both teams have had a very good season, but I don’t think there is that need on the part of the two teams that it is an obligation to go through, It is not an obligation to go to the semifinals, it is an illusion For both of them, then that, together with the experience they have, I don’t think they are going to show a state of mind that makes them rush”.
Navarro also spoke about the defense shown by the team in Tenerife, which was close to perfection and which was one of the keys to winning the first point of the series. ¨There is a lot of work, many videos, many images, many hours with the attendees, many discussions, many WhatsApp messages, many videos and many audios; there are many discussions behind each game, a lot of time, bets, risks and uncertainty, but In the end there is certainty that it will go well”.