“I offered myself to Girona after saying ‘no’ to Aíto when he was Alba’s coach”

This is his first experience away from home. how are you doing

I’m lucky because I’m in a city with a culture quite similar to Croatia, I haven’t noticed a big change in that aspect, and I think I’ve adapted quickly enough. I’m very comfortable in Girona: it’s small, with nice people and good food, although the most important thing is that it has a great club with incredible colleagues. For me it’s perfect.

Still, was it very difficult to decide to come?

Last season I already had the desire to leave Croatia, but in the end I stayed with the promise that I would do it the following year. That’s why I’m here.

Did you come with your family or alone?

In theory alone, but in practice everyone goes up and down. When my girlfriend is not there, my parents or siblings are there. I always have visitors.

Do you miss Croatia?

Of couse. Everyone misses home when they leave, but Girona is becoming more and more my home.

What do you do in your free time?

My younger brothers, aged 8 and 5, are often here and I play with them. I am the oldest of five brothers. Unlike here, in Croatia we trained twice a day and now maybe I get a little bored in the afternoons but I watch series, I go bowling with Taylor…, I always try to find something to do. I also cook. I don’t consider myself a chef, but I like to try new recipes that I google. Once I even set fire to the kitchen. All right. (River).

Do your brothers play basketball too?

My 19-year-old brother plays Cibona, my 16-year-old sister plays volleyball and the other two don’t play any sports yet because they’re too young.

How does it feel when more than 5,000 people correct your name a Fontajau?

This has indeed been a new experience. My lifelong club in Croatia didn’t have that many fans, I think we only had 5,000 spectators once in all the years I was there. Hearing how they cheer you on every game is very exciting, it makes me happy. Hopefully they will always be there.

He has almost always played for Cibona in Zagreb. Before coming to Girona, he had only left it once to go on loan to Rudes.

I was born there. I started playing at Cibona when I must have been 10 years old and I didn’t want to move anymore.

At the age of 15 he became part of the first team. Do you think you had to grow up all at once?

Things like that make you grow up fast, but you also have to put in your work. In the squad there were colleagues who were 20 years older than me… I shared a room with Damir Markota, who is 17 years older than me and used to be my father’s colleague. imagine It was a little weird, but I also got the benefit of it.

He was the youngest captain in the clubs history at 17 years and 10 months. Do you consider yourself responsible?

Sometimes. When I’m not around basketball, I’m like a little kid. Otherwise it would be boring.

How does this role take Girona? Every time he has more minutes.

It’s different because the style of play is different. At the beginning I had less minutes, but because I had to adapt and it also depends on how Miletic is doing. I am very happy with Aíto and I feel that I have the maximum support from the whole team.

His father also played basketball. Is he the player he is now because of him?

Well… We have a very deep relationship. It is clear that I fell in love with basketball because of him and that part of who I am now is thanks to him, but before coming to Girona I decided that I would be the one to decide on my own. I told him that if I was going to be someone in the world of basketball it would be for myself, not for him. I needed to break free from him in that respect. Of course I listen to him and we talk about basketball all the time because it brings us together, but I try not to be too influenced by what he tells me. I want to be myself.

He was also a power forward. Are they similar as players?

No, he was a pivot. He started as a power forward, but then he gained more kilos than Marc Gasol…, so he changed positions. (River). Maybe when I was young we were more alike, but we are completely different.

He witnessed his explosion in Girona in the match against Bilbao. What advice do you give him as a coach? Why did Aíto comment that he always invited him to stay…

My father? Everything he tells me, I have to do the opposite. It’s a joke. It was a coincidence. After that game, everyone told me that I had shown off because my father was there, but even though I might have been a little more motivated, that wasn’t the case. It just happened. He can advise me on whatever he wants, he has another view from the other side and can notice things that are not appreciated on the track. We talk about it, even if sometimes we don’t agree. It is normal.

And Aíto? What are you learning from him?

This has changed the way I play. I’m probably better now than in Croatia, I also feel better on the court. I’m enjoying the ACB.

At the beginning, when the team was chaining so many defeats, did he come to regret coming?

No, on the contrary. Al Cibona had also gone through a very bad streak when he was the captain. We couldn’t beat anyone, everyone was superior to us. But we learned from our mistakes and two years later we were the only unbeaten team in the Croatian league. Something similar happened to us here because we were a new team. I knew it was a matter of being patient and working day by day to be better. What we cannot do now is settle, we must continue to grow individually and as a team.

Is it difficult to be the youngest member of the team?

I don’t even think about it. Maybe at the beginning he respected me a little because it was my first experience abroad, but now that I’ve been in Girona for a few months I feel very comfortable. I can talk and share my opinion with everyone about anything. For example, telling Quino ‘we could do it this way or that’ and nothing happens. No one treats me differently for being younger.

Despite the defeat against the Barçaare you and the team in the best moment of the season?

Of course, but nothing has ever changed for us. Even if the balance is now positive with six victories in six games, the work is the same and we must maintain concentration to achieve the objectives.

How far can they go?

I don’t know, we’ll see. I don’t like to predict what will happen at the end of the season, but we know we are on the right track.

In 2021 he waived the Draft. Because? Was it because of the injury he suffered, maybe?

I don’t know… really. I had everything, but I was also scared. Except I got injured. I didn’t know if I was going to continue to get minutes, if I was going to end up in the G League… I was overwhelmed and decided to postpone it.

So does he intend to run again?

Of course. I think the first time I considered it was too soon, I took it so badly that I quit basketball for a while. I was mentally saturated. This year is different. I’ll see what I do when the season is over.

dream with theNBA?

And who doesn’t? Of course! Everybody wants to play in the NBA, that’s all. I want to get there, but I also know it’s not easy. Now I’m testing in Europe and it’s fine.

Have you talked to Marc Gasol about it?

No, I don’t want to ask him either. I think now is not the time to talk about the NBA, I want to be here and I’m focused on that.

How did you get the opportunity to come to Girona?

I called the club myself. I had heard that Aíto was the coach and I told my agent to offer me. When I was 16 and he was coaching Alba Berlin, he tried to sign me but I didn’t go because I wanted to stay in Croatia. The deal was closed very easily, in three days everything was already settled.

He is part of the absolute selection of Croatia. What are your goals?

We don’t really know what happened because we are a good team, but we have been left out of the qualifiers for the World Cup. Maybe we’ll have a chance to play the qualifiers for the Olympics. We need time to recover, but the new generations can play a good role in achieving the results. We must be united.

In the previous era of Girona in the ACB there was the Croatian Veljko Mrsic who, coincidentally, is the coach of Breogan, their next rival. What does it have to do with it?

He was my coach in the national team. In fact, he was the one who gave me my absolute debut when I was 17 years old (I’m still the youngest). I didn’t know he had played in Girona until I got here and the doctor asked me about him while I was going through the medical check-up. He is a great coach, we have a good relationship and this Sunday’s game will be special. I want revenge after losing in the first leg, apart from the fact that we are in a better situation. we can win

And with Dalibor Bagaric?

I didn’t know either until I arrived in Girona. i know him