“Guys, today we are facing an even more complicated rival than Chile and Colombia, and it is not because they are not, but because this virus is formidable and it is beating us worldwide.”
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Gabriel Sarfati, a member of the Confederation’s medical department, thus started a half-hour talk with the Argentine delegation trying to draw a parallel with sports and making clear the importance of taking great care so that the National Team arrives healthy, complete, to the matches Friday (10.21 against Chile) and Saturday (10.22 against Colombia) qualifying for Americup 2022. “The key, as FIBA asks us, is education and awareness. It is never enough, we can always take one more precaution and we must never underestimate it, or relax, even though the 25 of us currently have two negative tests, “explained who put together the dissertation based on a FIBA medical document and with the contribution collected from the seven meetings with NBA doctors who organized the flawless bubble in Orlando. “We prefer to talk about everything because we don’t want the ‘ah, I didn’t know’. We seek to inform and raise awareness. We apologize if we are heavy, in what we say and in the controls that we will be doing, but it is for the good of all ”, continued Sarfati, who today is considered by everyone within the delegation as the most important person until the ball go to the air in Obras Sanitarias. The priority is health.
Beside him, Gabriel Piccato nodded and added with a crude but realistic message. “I to you and you to me have to see ourselves as possible contagion agents and then act accordingly, respecting the basic sanitary principles that we all know,” added the new head coach of the selected team, who cited 15 players for this window – to anticipate situations- and requested to concentrate five days ahead of schedule, taking advantage of the momentary suspension of the National League. Precisely, what happened in our domestic competition has served so that everyone has taken extra precautions and is much more attentive to everything. It shows hour by hour, activity by activity, in the Design Suites hotel that exclusively houses our selected one, with one room per person and extreme measures. At mealtime, for example, one person serves each person, everyone sits apart (in crossed positions) and the chinstrap is only removed to eat.
After staying on Friday, in addition to not stepping on the sidewalk, the team did not train on Saturday and Sunday to take care of themselves, waiting for the OK (field and transport) from FIBA. “We are in the phase called ‘relative isolation’ and on Tuesday we entered the hermetic bubble of FIBA that will be in the Marriott. There we get into their protocol, and after the third PCR, we will be absolutely safe. But for now we have to continue taking care of ourselves, waiting for that third test that eliminates any chance, ”Sarfati reported in a talk with CABB Press. The doctor has a set of digital instruments, such as an infrared thermometer and a pulse oximeter, which allows 48 hours to anticipate the disease. “We test each member once a day. We measure temperature, heart rate, and respiratory function through oxygen saturation. Before having Covid-19, these parameters are altered and thus we anticipate the disease to develop, ”he said. He also does a clinical symptom study, always looking for symptoms before virus symptoms.
“We are in a pandemic. The uncertainty is very great. You can foresee all the scenarios but they are still changeable and high risk. That means that we can still get it, as has happened to teams around the world. That is why we must do everything possible to lower the odds as much as possible ”, added Piccato after speaking to the players. “The request is of social conscience, because a personal attitude affects the collective. In a normal situation, you can do what you want with your life, because the only thing harmed is you, but not here. Because you harm a third party ”, added the 48-year-old from Santa Fe.
“When the swab is negative, it is the first step of many, not the last. We must not trust ourselves. Because you may be suffering from the disease … You don’t have to run away but take the measures that lower the odds. Challenging this virus is not good advice. The way is prevention, ”Piccato continued. “There is a factor that we cannot handle, but what we can, let’s follow the simple rules. Wash your hands, permanently resort to disinfection, have your cleaning kit at hand. When you chat, keep your distance, wear a chinstrap permanently, do not get together. Ventilated places are recommended. Avoid touching your nose, mouth and eyes… It is a habit that must be changed. The same as sharing towels, mate or the bottle. Avoid high-fives and hugging, for example, ”Sarfati said when he spoke to the players. “And one thing, please, if anyone has a symptom, let me know. Not by playing in the National Team will he harm the rest, ”added assistant Silvio Santander.
“What happened in the recent past helps us not to make the same mistakes,” Piccato analyzed. The players nodded in self-criticism. “Unfortunately in the concentration of the League we made some mistakes. Maybe because we relaxed when we entered the bubble thinking that nothing was going to happen, that the person next to us was a trustworthy person. Of course there are things that need to be corrected for today and when the League returns ”, said Marco Giordano, mature to assess the situation while waiting for his debut in the Major. “It is not easy to see your partner as a latent danger, but it is how we should take it. It happened to me: when I met friends I hadn’t seen in months, I hugged them. Or we high five. Or we pat the referee. We must improve and be in the details that make the difference. We cannot underestimate this virus, more so after what happened. We already lost a chance, we cannot repeat it ”, contributed Juan De la Fuente, another of the newcomers at this level who valued the messages they received. “They were meaningful talks, not just a welcome. The more information we have, the more aware we will be. Every day that passes I give it more importance and more seeing everything we have at our disposal, this concentration that was advanced and all the tools that they deployed. We have to take care of ourselves, because now there is also the plus of representing the country ”, commented the guard-forward who was a gold medal in the 3 × 3 of the Youth Games.
“I see everything very well organized, I notice that what happened has been taken to improve. For example, everything here in the hotel and not having trained to take care of ourselves, to swab ourselves and take every precaution. We were all hurt by what happened in the League and each class must criticize itself. I think we have learned, I feel more responsibility, “continued Federico Aguerre, one of the most experienced, who spoke of” daily learning “to improve prevention measures” because health is more important today than sports and this is the responsibility of everybody”.
A few minutes ago a cognitive training was carried out: a talk by the coaching staff to clarify the general guidelines of the process and specifications of the line of play that will be sought for this young team (24 years on average), in general and thinking about Chile and Colombia. pic.twitter.com/vk2bTm4Gh2
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