"If we are a team that does not get carried away by a victory and continues working well, everything will be easier. If we are a team that does not get frustrated or stop believing after a defeat, that will also make things easier," said the Basque coach, who highlighted the great "preseason work" during which the Aragonese side "has been improving" and taking steps forward. "Now the competition begins and it changes everything. In professional basketball, results matter, and in a month I will be able to tell you whether this is a team that improves quickly," he added.
In this way, the red-and-white club, which will have all its players available, will begin a tough opening stretch of the league that "is a little daunting" and in which, after visiting Tenerife, it will host the reigning ACB champions, Valencia Basket. "We are eager for the competition to begin and to see where we stand today. We know what awaits us in this first game, but we are going into it with enthusiasm and the desire to play well because we have good feelings from what we have done recently," García de Vitoria stressed.
The red-and-white club enjoyed an encouraging preseason. Photo: Casademont Zaragoza
Regarding Casademont's remaining areas for improvement, the Basque coach focused on defensive aspects: "I really like our ability to share the ball. The team enjoys being together and playing together. And we need to keep improving our defensive rebounding. I will always want to improve more on defense than in attack. On offense, I prefer to rely on the structure we have, the talent of the players, and give them a little more freedom so they can play with greater looseness."
THE OPPONENT: LA LAGUNA TENERIFE
To get off to the best possible start, Casademont will have to overcome the formidable home court of ACB semifinalists La Laguna Tenerife. "They have kept eight players from last season and have strengthened and improved their roster, if that was even possible. We are talking about a top-level team, coached by someone like Jaka Lakovic, who has a basketball philosophy very similar to what Canarias played in previous years, and they have had a great preseason," said the Casademont coach, who noted that the preseason game between the Aragonese and Tenerife sides "is of little use."
"We will have to shoot efficiently because they do a good job of collapsing the paint and defending the pick-and-roll, and we will have to share the ball well. Then, on defense, we need to recognize the players' characteristics and not lose our shape because they have good spells or scoring runs, because they will have moments of outstanding shooting given their wealth of shooters and talented ball-handlers," García de Vitoria said, highlighting the keys to securing the team's first win of the season.
