BadalonaA few hours before the release of play-off of the Eurocup, Carles Duran attends the ARA to analyze a major season of the Youth of Badalona. The coach has just renewed his contract and is facing the decisive stage with all the enthusiasm in the world.
How do you feel about reaching the playoffs?
– We arrived well, but the stop was a bit long. We have tried to take advantage of the time to recover players and we face the final stretch with great enthusiasm and with the staff ready to be able to help.
What can we expect from Ratiopharm Ulm?
– It is a very well worked team, both in front and behind. His profile is very much of the German League, with many players from the country. It’s not a very high team and Cristiano Felicio’s injury has hurt them. Offensively it is a very rich team in detail. They have been in eighth place because they have had many injuries, but it is a very competitive team that has managed to win on very difficult tracks.
The coach is Jaka Lakovic, who was his assistant.
– That we can both be at this level is good news. He is doing very well for his team because he is also doing so with very limited resources. If we are not 100%, it is a rival that will put us in trouble.
The format is atypical, with eliminatory one to a party. What do you think?
– It’s the first time I’ve faced this format, I’ve never played a qualifier like that. On the one hand, we can play all the qualifiers at home. Playing in Badalona is an award that I would have signed at the beginning of the season and that is a consequence of the regular league that the team has made, which is 10. On the other hand, it is a risky format in which you do not have margin of error. You can’t have a bad match.
What is he most happy about when he sees the Peña play at this level?
– The fact that people can identify a lot with us. When it comes to the Penya, people are talking about a fun team that plays fast and plays a fun and showy game for the spectator. I think that at La Penya we sell a product that is exciting because people have a good time. I try to have a team format in which everyone feels involved. There are roles and players with different experience, but everyone feels involved. When we had problems, everyone had their time. I like to be talked about as a team and not as a whole set of individuals.
It struck me how they have maintained their level despite the problems of injuries in the base position.
– It has not been easy because Ferran Bassas has lost much of the season. The entry of Guillem Vives has been easy because he had already played with me and, therefore, his adaptation has not been noticed so much. When they weren’t there, the team took a step forward. This Rock stands out for the way it plays. We have many different game generators and this has helped us. We have been able to find other options, such as creating play through the low pole, which is something that is being lost in European basketball. It’s about looking for strengths and not thinking about our weaknesses. In addition, Andrés Feliz has taken advantage of the situation to continue growing. The Eurocup has helped us grow different players while remaining competitive.
You caught the team in a borderline situation and now the scenario is different.
– I lived the situation naturally. I tried to focus on what depended on me: to train well, to help the players, to be competitive and to try to win every game … Do my job! I have tried to make more Penya than ever, empowering the player of the house and giving value to the player made by us. I tried to introduce players who could help us. I’m sure I was wrong, but we were right. In this process we have gone from fighting to avoid the descent to seeing people criticize us for not winning every day. Balance must be found. Everyone says we’re a training club, but everyone wants it to be competitive and that’s what we’ve tried. I have renewed because I believe that we must not lose our essence and that we want to continue on this path. The goal is to be more regular and climb a rung to keep us among the first. That costs money, because we are not there financially. If we are doing things right, we must try not to lose strength. We want to continue in privileged positions, such as Tenerife or Valencia.
People are very excited.
– We really like playing at the Olympic Palace, where we found a very good union with the fans, but we need more people for the final stretch. We need to find a middle ground. We may not always have 12,000 people, but we must be able to grow. People are demanding with me and the team and I want to be with them. The fans who come are helping us a lot and are having a great time. We used to talk about financial problems and the players who left, now we talk about young people and how we play.
Do you feel that sometimes what you are doing is not valued?
– No, it’s not my job to talk about other people’s work. Last week I was surprised that there was more talk of the Penya for the cryptocurrency event than for it to be ranked third … I think Catalan basketball should be proud of us. People talk about the Penya and they talk about it well, but this is a business and I want to talk about it more because we are doing well. We are a team that has six home-made players and a coach who loves to speak Catalan.
It’s still surprising that he does dead time in Catalan.
– It’s still shocking that he does dead time in Catalan and I understand, but it’s our language. My mother’s part comes from Soria and my paternal grandmother is from Murcia, but thanks to my parents, Catalan has been a much-loved and cared for language. I like to speak Catalan and I do it with most players. It is the language of this team. Of course, I have other players, but it’s a respected language in the locker room. In our own way we put our grain of sand.
How do you look at the Women’s Youth project?
– We don’t agree much because they train in the evening, but normalizing the sport is great news. I have a daughter and a son and I give them both the same value. I wish we could empower this team thanks to the girls in the nursery growing up, and that’s a time-consuming process. The structure of Catalan women’s basketball is extraordinary. La Penya already had a women’s team and the club has made a decision that is not easy. I hope that the Penya will soon be mentioned as a roster of players and players and that the women’s team will be as competitive as possible.
