"We haven't won at home and it's an important challenge. That has to make us fully engaged and highly focused. I am eager to finally get a home win as head coach, enjoy a victory with the fans and also give them the final weekend of the Pilares festivities," said the Basque coach, who was optimistic because his team is "improving" and the players "are happy with what we are doing".
Despite the strong start to the season and the fact that it is "easier to keep growing after a win because it is easier for the message to get through," García de Vitoria stressed that he had reminded his players of the importance of continuing to work every day: "The problem with winning is that praise can weaken you and make you believe you've already made it. That was the last message in the dressing room in Coruña and the first one we delivered on the first day of training here in Zaragoza."
"I have the feeling, and I am sure, that La Marea Roja is eager for good things, and I believe the way to build that is to move forward together and for them to be here, push us, help us and experience the game with us," García de Vitoria said, expressing his confidence in "a good turnout" for the game against Lleida at the Príncipe Felipe in the Aragonese capital.
THE OPPONENT: LLEIDA
Regarding his next opponent, the Basque coach said it is "a well-coached team" that plays at a pace worth considering. "We are two teams that play at two very different tempos. Lleida has one of the fastest paces in the league, is the team that runs the most fast breaks and, in fact, has 12 more fast breaks than us per game, which amounts to almost 11 more fast-break points than us," García de Vitoria analyzed.
Therefore, in addition to controlling the Catalan side's tempo, the Casademont coach identified rebounding and turnovers as the other keys to the game. "We are a team that is rebounding well at both ends of the court, but we want to keep improving. We also need to improve our turnover rate because, for a team that plays fewer possessions than others, we are committing too many turnovers," the Basque coach stressed regarding three areas that, if they can control them, will bring them closer to achieving their goal of securing their first home win.
