MADRID, 26 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The women’s national basketball coach, Miguel Méndez, was satisfied with winning silver in the Eurobasket in Israel and Slovenia, stressing the importance of accessing a Pre-Olympic, and confessed that he had slept “very well” throughout the championship except for the night after the final because he believes that there were “situations” that “perhaps they could have solved better from the bench”.
“Last night I already knew this silver well. We had the objective of trying to have a busy summer for these generations to come and the success of accessing the Pre-Olympic, which was very complicated and was our first objective, I put it on the same level as the medal even because women’s basketball cannot afford to be out of major championships,” Méndez warned the media after arriving from the championship in Madrid.
The coach is clear that players like Raquel Carrera or Maite Cazorla “deserve to play and need to continue competing at this level to achieve success.” “I was already happy with that and the team has worked very well, day by day it has worked better and better,” he admitted.
“The final was a pity because it was a game that I think we could have won despite the fact that Belgium has practically swept the championship. I think we deserved at least to have played it at the last minute instead of already getting there so badly “, he claimed.
In this sense, the Galician coach made it clear that he does not want to put “not a but on the players” and that he prefers to look “internally at the sports management and technical level” on the management of that final stretch. “I slept very well throughout the tournament, even at the worst moments, when the next day was inside or outside, and on Sunday I slept very little all night because there were game situations that perhaps we could have solved better from the bench and the night was a little hard”, commented.
“I believe that Spain has never left, because even in 2021, both in the European Championship and in Tokyo, those quarterfinal matches were lost due to details. I think that not being in the World Cup was due to details and that it was not a fall of the team. Many times the line between winning and losing is that, it is a good or bad decision made by any of the teams. I think that the team never really left and it is true that we have returned to compete at a high level, that She has hooked her with her way of playing, her behavior on the field and that is also important as a reference to all those who come after us”, he added.
On Alba Torrens, Méndez also pointed out that “she is one of those who has not left either.” “In general, it is always difficult for me to talk about individualities because if we have to talk about a tournament that Laura Gil has done, or Raquel Carrera, who is 21 years old, the explosion of Ginzo, the appearances of Queralt Casas, of María Conde , Laura Quevedo or Leo Rodríguez,” he said.
“It’s hard for me to single out, but it’s true that Alba is very good and a special woman, someone who never lets you down and has a permanent smile and has the word love in her mouth all the time because she’s that affectionate. Sportingly , in these games she knows that she will be there, although she may be more or less successful, and I think that this is a good reference also for the players who come,” he added.
“THE LAST 10 DAYS HAVE BEEN TENSE”
The coach acknowledged that “the last ten days have been tense and hard” and that he needs “a quiet family break”. “Afterwards, we are thinking above all about the European draw and the window in November, but it is true that what you are looking forward to is the Pre-Olympic. We have little time to work and the November window we will see what we have and with whom play, but if we can use it as preparation for the Pre-Olympic, the better,” he said.
“It is not because we are in the Games, it is because it is a great championship, but it is true that we have to try to be there. There is an added complication that is the draw because it is not the same if you get Australia or New Zealand or the Dominican Republic than Canada in the group. It is a very competitive championship and we are going to see how the players are also to face this because it could be the end of one cycle and the beginning of another”, explained the man from Vigo.
Méndez valued the players above all else. “The key is always them. I believe that the players are the ones that bring you here, this is a game for actresses, not one for directors. The coaches have to be prepared to help the team when needed. Once the team It is prepared and we all understand and trust the marked lines, they are the ones that pull the car in this type of matches”, he remarked.
“I would not highlight any message, simply to behave like the collective lines that we have set, the lines of working from the defense, because it is true that the team lacks a regular star, as other teams have who are there every day of the championship. 20 points per game. We don’t have this and we live from what we can generate from our defensive work and from what collectively can appear in the team. I like this type of game, I like to collectivize what we do and I think it’s great simplicity of the team’s identity”, he declared.