Ignacio Núñez smiles at Gipuzkoa Basket’s streak of five consecutive wins. Send a message of ambition about the option of ending … the regular league among the top five and being seeded in the playoffs and is pleased that “the club has almost abandoned the debt.” He admits that he will have to go down to Gasca to play because of the works in Illunbe.
– What a streak, right?
– Yes, we are very happy and the team is in very good dynamics and growing. I believe and trust that he will continue to give us joy for the rest of the season. Now we have to finish the first round well until we rest at the end of January, but hey, the team is growing and these good moments when they come have to be savored because in sport it is not easy to link streaks like that.
– It came from a balance of one win and six losses. Were there nerves?
– Well, there was also concern and tension because we saw that it was not so much a matter of results. Obviously it marks everything in professional sports, but the feelings that the group transmitted were good because they saw good work in training. In that start there were games in which the team was not good at all and when you go 1-6 and eliminated in the Cup, then the concern is evident. But at the same time there was always a bit of calm and confidence in the work that we knew the coaching staff was doing.
– There was no doubt about that, right?
– It is one thing that we are obliged to always be attentive to the market and looking at different alternatives, but the truth is that at no time did I speak with any coach, nor did I authorize ‘Xubi’ to contact any because the trust in Sergio and the work he was doing was maximum. It is also true that this is a professional sport and everyone understands that if you keep losing and having defeats, in the end you have to make decisions, but we did not talk to anyone and at all times we maintained confidence in Sergio.
– What ‘clicked’ to reverse the situation?
– I think it is a team effort. The group was training well and then from there you have different triumphs. You have two Americans who are rookies, Korsantia arrives in a new league, there is a process of adaptation and adjustment with a new coach. You put all this together and in the end you saw that maybe you had a very good group of people, but at a given moment it was difficult for there to be a leader on the field and someone who assumed responsibilities.
– Siga.
– Then it has been an accumulation of everything as well. I believe that sometimes less is more, and in a moment of making decisions instead of starting with the coach, we started with the departure of two players, understanding that due to different circumstances they were not helping the group nor were they helping themselves, so for them it was also good to have an exit.
– And here comes Jalen Tate, who has changed the face of the team…
– There is no doubt that the arrival of the new player is going to help us and is helping us, but it was in Fuenlabrada when the team clicked and the basis of the work was done without having to incorporate anyone. And then Manex Ansorregi began to raise the level and those from home are also being very important, they are being glue and the four of them have given us quality minutes. A shame now about Aitor Zubizarreta’s injury, but I insist, between those at home who have provided a lot of glue and those from abroad who are getting the temperature of the league, I believe that that is what has generated the change.
– Should we value the work of those at home?
– Yes, and in the end it is very nice to see that the people from home are on the team contributing. And that combination of people from abroad and people from home in the end generates good chemistry. But hey, we have four who are contributing many minutes on the court. And that is Gipuzkoa Basket’s DNA and we are very proud of it.
– Is the objective still the promotion playoff to ACB?
– Yes, I think the goal of the playoff is unavoidable. If we do not enter the top nine we will not have met our objectives. It is true that the league, as always, is very balanced. This year there is perhaps more room with the exception of Coruña, which is going much higher. But hey, given the team’s trend, this is business as usual. Now I see the team in very good shape. If our injuries continue to be respected, I see that we are going to continue competing very well and that we are going to be higher. Hopefully closer to fifth place than ninth.
– Is it a utopia to think about being seeded?
– In the Board of Directors, in an internal reflection we had, we considered being in that top-5. It is true that the first three places are very expensive, but from there we see that if we do everything right we can be there. I hope we can be seeded. It would be a very nice achievement to have a home field advantage in a possible playoff. But as I said, now we are going little by little and we are already in the playoff. The idea is not to leave there for the rest of the season and move up positions if possible.
– You are still a man of numbers…
– You always have to add, always.
– What is your assessment of the Shareholders’ Meeting held a few weeks ago in which they gave the good news that the debt has decreased significantly?
– Well, the clear trend is that the club in recent years continues to work well, that we gave positive results. It is true that we have treasury tensions and difficulties throughout the season, but the club is on a path of stability and smooth and calm growth. Ultimately, what we aim for is that there are no scares. Neither at the sporting level, nor at the budget level, nor in numbers. I believe that in terms of budget we are at a figure that is already high compared to what we were working on five or six years ago and I do not know if we will be able to maintain that figure in the coming years. Hopefully, it will depend on the social growth of the club, but of course we are calm because the stability and economic health of the club is much better than it was years ago.
– Talk about social growth, which continues to be the club’s workhorse…
– I think it is the great pending issue for the club, that we grow from a social point of view and that more people come to attend the games. It is true that we are now in a process of internal reflection. The club is increasingly doing more activities through its Gipuzkoa Basket Foundation led by its president Josean Ibiricu. Such as the social projects designed to bring basketball closer to the young people of Gipuzkoa and promote essential values such as teamwork, healthy eating and caring for the environment in sport. Within the reflection that we are doing we have to see what are the next steps to take taking into account that the future horizon of the club for 2030 is guaranteed with Illunbe Berria and with that already dynamic facility that I am sure will be the key factor for more people to come and join us.
– Is this game in the middle of parties usually very crowded?
– Yes, I think it will be, as you say, around this time and with the initiatives we have implemented, the best start of the season. We hope so. Let’s see if we are 3,000 or even a little more. But it will be a nice day, that’s for sure. Lolo Encinas is a great friend, so I like that he wins every game except when he faces us. It is a beautiful date and a good opportunity to achieve more victories than defeats. It would be very good news. We are going to go step by step, but the next stop is Cantabria on Sunday and I think we will take about 3,000 people. From there we will continue working.”
– So they are forced to move from Illunbe for three seasons…
– It is true that the construction of this new facility forces the club to eventually leave Illumbe at a given moment because due to the works we would not be able to play in the current facility and, therefore, the objective now is for the club to continue growing until 2030 and endure these years well. Then we will also have to make decisions to see how we do so that the fans are closer to the club and that we are closer to the fans.
– That journey leads the GBC to return to the Josean Gasca, right?
– In Donostia there are currently only two facilities where you can play basketball. That is a reality that we are all aware of: one is Illunbe and the other is Gasca. It is an internal reflection that we are currently managing at the club and if we do not play in Illumbe, then Josean Gasca is the other obvious alternative.
– But the sports center currently only has 1,890 seats…
– Yes. I hope it stays small, but I insist, I don’t want to advance events. We will be defining the steps together with the institutions and also probing the feelings of our subscribers a little.
