"There is a difference between being ambitious and being crazy. We are realistic, but ambitious, and obviously, if we were able to beat a team like Unicaja on Sunday, in addition to putting us two wins ahead of them in the standings, it would also show the rest of the league that we are a team with ambitions," explained the Casademont coach, whose team currently sits sixth in the standings with four wins and two losses.
In this way, overcoming a team of Unicaja's caliber would provide an extra boost to an Aragón side that, despite competing well, was unable to defeat Valencia and Barça at the start of the season. "It would reinforce the idea that we are also capable of beating teams with high budgets and deep rosters. It would give us even more confidence that against opponents of this level we are not only capable of competing, but also of winning," said the Basque coach, who will be able to count on his entire roster apart from injured players Caleb Homesley and Jilson Bango.
The Red Tide will once again play a decisive role at Príncipe Felipe. Photo: ACBPhoto/Esther Casas
To secure their fifth league victory, García de Vitoria, who believes the Rojillo team has already achieved its first objective of "creating an identity" in order to "connect with the fans," once again emphasized the importance of that support: "The other day I said that the Red Tide was very important within the plan, and it proved it. We have to make sure that starts from the opening tip, twenty minutes before the game begins, or even on Saturday, so that it is already clear there is an atmosphere surrounding a great game. People should not come to Felipe to watch a game because we are playing Unicaja; people should come to Felipe to watch Casademont Zaragoza."
THE OPPONENT: UNICAJA
"We are two teams that play with a very similar approach, prioritizing ball movement, and both have significant tactical flexibility. We are two teams that defend well. In terms of efficiency, Unicaja has the sixth-best defense in the league and we have the eighth-best," García de Vitoria explained about the Málaga side, which defeated Reggiana 99-94 in the BCL during the week to maintain its perfect record in the European competition.
Casademont's coach therefore stressed that it would be "a difficult game" against "a great opponent": "Unicaja is a top European team. It has a great roster and a top European coach. In the ACB, it has lost three games, but one was on the opening day against Real Madrid in Madrid, and it had a chance to win in the Canary Islands and the other day against Barça."
