MADRID, 31 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Baskonia’s coach, Neven Spahija, insisted this Thursday that “every game counts and you can’t call it training” before facing Zalgiris on the last day of the Euroleague with very remote options to qualify for the ‘playoff’, at the same time as acknowledged that they need to play with “more consistency.”
“It’s not a hard training session to try things. Every game counts and you can never call it training. The idea is always to go to the top and try to win. Going with the idea of trying different things doesn’t seem like a good idea to me,” Spahija said in the preview of the match against Zalgiris that will close the regular phase of the Euroleague.
The Croatian coach pointed out that “being and competing together” is the main reason for the team’s improvement in the last month. “When the team stays together after losing, that’s worth a lot. The team is good, we’ve won four of the last five EuroLeague games. We can compete against any team, it means a lot to be together with the squad we have,” he added.
At the same time, he stressed on several occasions that “the first goal” this Friday “is to win the game.” “It would help us to play more consistently. I will do what the game asks of me. I will do everything possible to win the game. If I need a player from the bench, he will play, but the first thing is to win,” he stressed.
“The team needs to play well and fight, the people recognize it. We saw it in the last game, I hope they continue to support us, the fans are very important to us. I hope we will go together in the goals”, he expressed about the relevance of the hobby in team dynamics.
Finally, Spahija lamented that an injury to his starting lineup would be “a problem” for the team. “At game level we have everything. I don’t like to talk about players whose future is up in the air. We’re not going to sign just to sign. But as the team has played in the last few games, the team has shown a lot. If any of the starting five injured is a problem,” he concluded.