Básquet Total continues its classic round of notes with the DTA coaches. In this case it was Sergio Delgado, who directs Larrañaga.
How was the preparation for the tournament?
Pretty good, I can’t complain, especially for the short time. We have been working together since September 10, to be a new group it has settled down quite well and the wardrobe intern helped the group to unite. They are people who are always ready, who stay a while longer than usual to work on details on the court and also physically. We have young players who trained with us. The club tends to have a fairly important work discipline and those who come from abroad have a greater effort, compared to the rest. We are prepared for everything, we know that the tournament itself will put us at the height of what we are really capable of doing, the work will speak for itself.
How have you seen the squad in the friendlies they have had so far?
The unofficial games that we actually play haven’t been many. It is lived with great intensity and seriousness. In the games that we have played, each one of us has tried to find a place in the team, even though we have an extended rotation, then we will see if we can do it or not. The tournament will show it. The players have taken each game with a seriousness and commitment to work. In these games played, at times, we have seen the game that we want to implement, which leaves us quite satisfied with the performance, but they are still practice games, even if we take it seriously, the context or the pressure are what same.
How are you feeling with the group?
In the group I have the youngest, especially the under 23s, who I already knew because I have been working for the same club for two years. Some of them I did not have the opportunity to have as players but I have seen them and they have trained with me on occasion. So it is different because I already know them, the rest of the players who have come from abroad like those who came from the Metro and other players who have participated in leagues from the interior of our country, for example; Mercedes and Salto are players who quickly adapted to what we want to play, they also have capacities and conditions that allowed them to adapt to our idea of the game. It is a process that we have been working on as a general idea of the club, from juniors to older ones. So with the group I feel comfortable, with the anxiety to participate on Saturday.
What do you want your team to play?
Our team has to be supportive when defending as when attacking. In defense, be aggressive, do not wait for the opponent to attack us. Our idea is global in any category and is based on proposing our game plan, attacking and generating. Obviously, later it goes on the material you have, if you can do it or not, then if you see it on the court. I think the idea is taking shape but the players are also convinced that they are going along the same line of play. In attack I expect a supportive team passing the ball, looking for an extra pass as much as possible. The shot we shoot is released and not forced. Situations do not always happen but it is the idea we are looking for in training. In the friendly matches we had, what was planned was embodied, we are in a constant search to continue leading the team in that way.
What do you think of the dispute form?
It is not the most favorable for the player and less for the team. It costs a lot for your team to adapt to the idea of the game, they are hours of training that the players put all of themselves into and that the tournament is short, it seems to me that it does not give much opportunity to young people who have not been able to have minutes in the two other major tournaments. There are guys in our team who are less than 25 years old who with a competition like the DTA generates experience and quality minutes, they can be replacement players in Metro or League perfectly. But it is what we have and luckily this year it can be played.
Are you satisfied with the squad?
With the squad we are very satisfied, they train very well, they are applied and as I told you before, they are the type of players we were looking for to face this tournament. But above all, and it is not talking for the sake of talking, we work with good people, the club works with many girls and many boys in the little schools and luckily we have many players in the training campuses. This the directive looks after firmly.
What is the objective in this championship?
The first game this Saturday. Then go match by match and correct as we go, the tournament will say what we are for, but I believe a lot in the way we are working and it gives me a lot of confidence to have this team where there are people with a lot of experience and where we have young people who are with many desire to play and continue growing, with the rebelliousness of the young player.
What is the central idea of your project?
We always work to improve, we try to leave the club better than when we arrived, it has always been like that, sometimes it is achieved and other times it is not. But I feel very comfortable, we have a very close working group and we help each other. The idea is that the club has the same way of playing from the youngest to the oldest, that costs but we are on the way. And I would obviously like to leave Larrañaga as high as possible, as he deserves.