Alimerka Oviedo Baloncesto had rarely wanted a break in the competition as much as the one the team faces this weekend. The FIBA window gives a truce to an OCB for whom everything has gone wrong since he began his tenth season in the LEB Oro, in which he is last classified, chained six defeats in as many games and accumulates such a number of injuries that so far it has barely been able to compete.
– Is it the worst sporting moment you have experienced in the club?
-I would go back to the first season (the team went down from EBA to First National), but I think it is the worst, without a doubt. We had never had a six to zero in losses and victories; The first year I don’t know if we were in such a bad sporting situation, it was a bad year but we weren’t that bad. You have to keep in mind that everything is new this year: coach, assistant coach, physical trainer and physiotherapist.
–Are the feelings you have for the future also that bad?
-Nope. In spite of everything, I don’t have that feeling of the first year, I think we were more inexperienced then and, furthermore, this year there are a host of mitigating factors that keep me very calm.
–Does the coach share that tranquility?
-The coach (Trifón Poch) is very confident in moving this forward and he does transmit that tranquility to me. And that someone with his experience and knowledge of the game does not give me a feeling of anxiety and, on the contrary, with his background, gives me peace of mind is good for everyone and something to be optimistic about.
– Are you worried about the image that the team has been giving?
-When we talked about mitigating factors, obviously those mitigating factors are injuries and new developments in the coaching staff, but what I would like is for the team to compete and in the last game there were some green shoots and many disconnections, which is something that It’s going on a lot and I hope it goes away.
–From your words, I understand that you have absolute confidence in Trypho Poch to take this situation forward.
– Maximum confidence. We are aware of the situation and that what we have to do is support it, reinforce it so that everything goes well and that this situation ends soon. And don’t let more people get hurt.
– Had you known in the OCB or in another club such an accumulation of injuries in such a short time?
-I really don’t remember seven injured in a game, neither in the OCB nor in any other team, although I’m sure there have been. The year we went to Lérida with seven players, it happened that some players had been discharged and that day was changed, it was something extraordinary, but like this year I don’t remember it.
– Is the accumulation of injuries something more than bad luck?
–Surely there are other explanations and that there are things that can be done better; from food to physical preparation, to the rhythm of training, but this is not mathematics. There was a day that we had three injured with plantar fasciitis, why three in a week and why at the beginning of the season? I can’t find the explanation, but I’m sure there is.
–Has the difficulty in finding a pivot been another added problem?
-When you start to sign people there are circumstances that make it rarely possible. We were interested in signing a pivot who is now an Almansa player and a whim of his agent did not allow us to do so. Then there were no other situations. It is proving difficult to sign centers for the LEB Oro and ACB teams. I hope that now that the famous G-League is up and running, the market begins to circulate and more opportunities may arise, which I suppose will be expensive but at least they will be opportunities.
– Do you contemplate making more movements in the squad?
–We have to make decisions as the situation evolves or regresses. We are looking at the market to see what can be done and if we have to make an effort, I think we should do it; We have the radars on and if the coach and the club think that the scalpel should be put into the squad, then it will have to be done.
– Is there money for it?
-Last month we made an estimate of the end of the season and the situation was good and small movements were feasible. If they are not small, you will have to think about spending money and looking for it.
-Do you have the feeling that this could happen because of the place that the club occupies in terms of budget in the LEB Oro?
-What is strange is that in these ten years we have only had one bad season. With a budget from the bottom it is easier for this to happen to you. Perhaps it is good to go hungry to put black on white what our situation is.
