Hernández: We talked about the game, how to improve and everything, but inside we knew that we weren’t finding the point. “
Sergio Hernández, coach of the Argentine basketball team, admitted today that the team “did not live up to the competition” in the last Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by his Australian counterpart, 97-59 .
The 57-year-old coach from Bahia also acknowledged that the Santiago forward Gabriel Deck, infected with coronavirus in the preparation prior to the start of the tournament, “made a huge effort but was not here to play” the contest that was won by the United States, who defeated France in the final 87-82
“The team was not up to the task beyond the fact that the rivals were very good, which made our version not the best,” said the DT who also led the Albiceleste cast at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (bronze medal) and Rio de Janeiro 2016 (eliminated in the quarterfinals).
“We had three extra days in the (Olympic) Village after losing, which helped us to have that moment of analysis and reflection,” Hernández assured TyC Sports.
“Even when practices ended we didn’t look good. We talked about the game, how to improve and everything, but inside we knew that we were not finding the point that we knew how to find in other preparations ”, described the coach.
Of the four matches played in the Olympic tournament, the representative from Albiceleste lost three (against Slovenia, Spain and Australia) and only beat the local Japan, led by the Buenos Aires DT, Julio Lamas.
“We confuse speed with haste; we put more energy than science into defending; We were past revolutions and we did not know how to control the times at any time, ”Hernández launched in a self-critical tone.
“The team was not up to the task beyond the fact that the rivals were very good, which made our version not the best””
The coach said that he does not feel “guilt” for what happened, although he did express the need to “assume responsibility and make the self-criticism that corresponds to me.”
Finally, the technical director referred to the retirement of the selected captain and emblem, Luis Scola, who decided to put an end to his story with the ‘blue and white’ in the match against Australia, for the quarterfinals.
“We never touched on the subject of Luis’s retirement in the previous one. Because otherwise he would kill us. He has a very powerful mentality, “he said.
Argentina fell 97-59 to Australia in the quarterfinals.
Scola, historical scorer for the Albiceleste team, played his last match at these Olympic Games, being replaced shortly after the end of the quarter-final match so that “basketball and the Olympic Games” could make that “moment of recognition for a legend. ”, He assumed.
“I decided to take him out, although he did not want to,” Hernández said, to illustrate what happened at the Saitama Arena, when the few attendees at the stadium stopped to pay tribute to the former player of the Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets, among others. NBA franchises
“His (Scola’s) leadership was impeccable from where you look at it. From helping us all from the sport, as people. I wouldn’t have achieved anything from 2007 to here if he wasn’t there, ”Hernández said.
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