Básquet Girona is on track to stay, but it needs to be finalized and, given the poor performance of the team away from home, Fontajau will play an important role in this. Therefore, before Saturday’s derby against the Laziness (18 hours), a direct rival even if according to Aíto they all are, “from the first and the second, to the last”, the team takes hold of the magic of its pavilion, which will be filled again, for break the streak of five defeats in six games that it now accumulates. The relegation, marked by Betis and Manresa with five wins, is far away (3 wins), but there is no need to complicate life in the year of the debut in the ACB. Winning would not be salvation, but almost, with 4 margin games when there would be 10. And also with the peace of mind of knowing that Girona will have to pass through other direct rivals such as fuenlabradahe Granada and Betis.
“We trained very well, but we have to be very convinced of what we have to do to play the game well. Manresa is a very intense team, already Europa they are doing very well”, points out Aíto. The technician considers that those of Pedro Martinez they have “a better team than what the classification says” and he assures once again that “we will have to be very concentrated”. “We must try to improve in all aspects, especially in shooting, day by day”, he emphasizes when asked about the poor balance in the triple demonstrated in Bilbao (3/17). Back in the press room of Fontajau the stop mantra appears FIBA which did not go well at all, this time in the mouth of the base Paul Figueras: “we have to recover a little the feelings we had before the stoppage for selections. To play again with this intensity that characterized us and to have this communion with Fontajau again». In this line, he appeals for the support of the Girona supporters, pointing out that “it is a perfect day for the pavilion to be full and help us push the team and get the most out of ourselves. We hope it will be a good basketball game and we can take a victory.”
Manresa lands in Fontajau with renewed spirits after beating Betis the previous day and getting out of relegation, and qualifying on Wednesday for the quarter-finals of the Champions (his opponent will be the Lenovo Tenerife). The Girona escort Guillem Jou and the return of coach Pedro Martínez to Fontajau (he was the coach ofAkasvayu before the resignation of the ACB in 2008) will be two of the main attractions of the derby. The coach praises this “new” Girona led on the court and in the offices by a Marc Gasol whom he managed in that previous stage in the top category. “Basquet Girona is a team that is having a very good season, with players capable of one-on-one and a player like Marc Gasol who conditions for everything he generates; we have to play with energy, play well in defense and one on one, we need to be at their level». In the match of the first round those of berries they won by a close 81-78. That day Waczynski was key with 21 points. Manresa now has another decisive player, Hardingwho just scored 41 points against Betis.
Asked what Girona aspires to until the end of the season, Aíto came out with his usual “to improve and play the best possible” and added that afterwards, “transferring this to the classification is very complicated because it also depends on the rivals. I don’t want to play fortune teller.” He also insists that “when you’re not right, you don’t have to fall into discouragement, in the same way that if you put everything in, you can’t believe you’re the best in the world either.” The derby, in short, will determine whether Girona’s last ten games are almost a matter of procedure or complicate life unnecessarily.
