Paco García, in a dead time in Pisuerga. /
Diego San Epifanio’s Leyma accumulates six consecutive victories, including Burgos, Estudiantes and Lleida at home, threatening the fifth place defended by Paco García’s team
The countdown has begun in the LEB Oro, and all the teams are beginning to position themselves to face the decisive phase of the competition, either by gaining the field factor or by putting their heads in the ‘play-off’, in the better conditions. Those teams that have not had a chance to strengthen themselves rearm to reach May with a clean head and the least bruised body possible. In the case of the UEMC, the experience lived last year helps it to take note and, backed by a favorable scenario like the one it has now, plan two months ahead. The objective is to dose loads and pamper the cow so that it continues to give milk in the month of May.
«We always work thinking one little step ahead, and the last victory against Estudiantes allows us to think that we can reach the ‘play-off’. There are twelve days left, last year we paid for the effort we made by doubling sessions and it went very well, but now the discourse is different. If everything goes as we think, we have in mind to make our own ‘window’ to reach the ‘play-off’ in the best possible way. We are going to try to arrive this year in better condition than last year”, Paco García admitted in the preview of the match that his team faces Leyma Coruña this Friday (Palacio de los Deportes, starting at 8:30 p.m.) .
On that road map that has been planned, the first stop is extremely difficult. Probably the most complicated exit of how many are left for the UEMC. A well-armed rival in all positions that arrives in an extraordinary dynamic, with six consecutive victories and some of special merit such as those harvested in Lleida (82-91) or against Burgos (95-81) and Estudiantes (74-66). Epi’s team is, together with Andorra (7 consecutive wins), the most solid at the moment. In his fiefdom he has not lost since December 11 (68-81 against Guipúzcoa).
«It is the best attack in the league that also shoots up playing at home at 86 points. We know that if we go to many points we won’t have many chances to win, so the most important thing is that we don’t get thrown off. I like being told that we are a physical team, but possibly we are going to play with another of the best squads on a physical level. We know of the difficulty that we have to improve away from home, that it is costing us, where we concede ten and a half points more than when we played at home”, analyzed the coach from Valladolid, recalling the axiom that presides over Pisuerga’s dressing room: more rebounds than the rival, fewer turnovers.
From there, one of the keys will be to match at least the power of the Galician team in the inside game (the Senegalese Diagne, 215 centimeters and 24 years old, is a force of nature). Paco García, who continues to trust steadfastly in the full recovery of Kevin Allen, “our best signing if he is at his level”, is not concerned after verifying the response of his team to the loss of Kabasele. «We have not been bad against teams that are superior in the inside game. Logically, it forces you to leave some option without being able to defend, but we try to make the most of what we have. What is there to improve performance outside? Well yes. I feel sorry for the games that escaped in Melilla or Castellón, and they are two buts that I have stuck. Now, to win against teams as strong away from home as Coruña, you have to do many things well, “acknowledges the coach, who for the moment leaves the particular ‘average’ in the background.
«I always say that they are won or lost in the first laps. The other day (with Estudiantes) it is true that we had it in hand and we could have fought to win it. But here the first thing is to win games and then we’ll see. Last year we entered thanks to the ‘averages’. It is important? Yeah. But we cannot get lost, the first thing is to win games. Win, win and win. Last year we entered with 18 victories and we must try to surpass that record (15 victories accumulated with twelve days to go ».
Gantt and the collective good moment
The Florida shooting guard is, without a doubt, one of the greatest exponents of the good moment that UEMC Real Valladolid is going through. His numbers in the last game, with 11 points and a single failure in field goals in 14 minutes, attest to this. Gantt thinks about the day to day and a long-distance race that still has many obstacles before facing the ‘play-off’.
«We work every day because each game has its difficulty. Now it’s time to try to win every day and then we’ll see. The league is very difficult this year because all the teams are strong, with very good players, and every week you have to be on your guard”, he points out, convinced that the team will reach the ‘play-off’ in a better physical version than in The last course. “Our physical trainer is doing a good job and the team is in shape every week. We work hard and it won’t be a problem”, he agrees, pointing out in a personal capacity that he works every day “to be better in facets such as defense to contribute more to the team”.
“Hopefully the legacy of Pepe Moratinos will not be lost and will last”
Paco García does not usually miss any detail in his public appearances, and this Thursday he took the opportunity to pay his particular tribute to the figure of Pepe Moratinos, so relevant on and off the court for many generations linked to basketball. «I want to have a small memory of my friend José Luis Martín Moratinos because if I am here today and I am a UEMC coach it is thanks to people like Pepe. I met him when I was 14 years old and I am 55 to 56, there are many years and he is that person who has transmitted many values to me that are a standard in my life and in my daily work”, he stated, wishing that all the way walked by Pepe Moratinos does not get lost over time. «His memory of him will always be very present. He is a man who has done a lot for basketball and I hope his legacy lasts and is not lost, and that the institutions do not stop helping Mini Day now ».
