The first day of the Christmas school holidays coincided yesterday with the open day of Básquet Girona in Palau, and the response from the fans was very good, with the presence of half a thousand people. At 12 noon the doors to the pavilion were opened and the fans who had been queuing outside for up to an hour before almost filled one side of the facility, while the team made several preparation matches under the orders of Aíto and the rest of the coaching staff, and other training exercises. Meanwhile the wing Garino he was practicing alone, trying to get fit after some physical ailments have kept him out of the last few games again.
The results did not go well in the opening match at the ACB (the team just won three), but this did not stop the passion of the fans. There was a desire to share a morning with the idols that every fortnight occupy the Parquet de Fontajau. There were also many children, with folders, balls, shirts and notebooks ready to collect autographs. When the session ended, which lasted almost an hour, there was one shower of gifts among the fans and a small training day with the winners of a competition organized by the club. The players were then divided into four groups and the supporters could approach them to greet them, take pictures and ask for as many autographs as they wanted. Obviously, the most demanded was Marc Gasol, who shared space with James Sorollawith an endless queue, although also Taylor o Practice they had a lot of requests. There was time for everyone and the staff spent an hour in contact with the fans, without bargaining for a smile, signature or photo.
During the open day he spoke Pierre Oriola. From the start he assessed that the victory against Zaragoza had had one positive effect in the dressing room: “you start the week in a different way. The game was generally good enough, there were mistakes, but the most important thing was to add. At this stage of the season, every victory is like winning a final”, he pointed out. Asked how many wins the team should have at the end of the first round, he was more pragmatic: “now we can only think about the match against Manresa on the 30th, which will be difficult enough. For the squad, for the players, for the coach, they are a rival with many weapons even if they are not going through a good time. This makes them even more dangerous and playing more at home.” Basketball Girona has, therefore, a week before it returns to action and the pivot winger has already warned that “the calendar that is now ahead of us is very important and every game must be like a final”.
“After a win you start the week in a different way. The game against Zaragoza was good in general terms, there were mistakes, but what was needed was to add up»
Oriola also applauded the club’s initiative by opening training to the fans: “it’s a very good idea to bring people, and younger children, to the team and get them hooked on basketball and Girona. It’s a great initiative to live face-to-face with the players.”
Regarding his physical condition, Pierre Oriola explained that “I’m getting better every time, chaining together more efforts, which is what really cost me the most. I have a lot of filming left but the line is going up»
