PARIS, 27 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Spanish women’s basketball coach, Miguel Méndez, said on Saturday that “there are very few teams” at the Paris Olympic Games (France) “that do not have serious aspirations of being at the top”, and for this reason he praised the Chinese team, which will be their opponent on Sunday (13.30 hours) in the first round within Group A.

“China is a very good team, we can’t say anything else. The level at the Games is incredible, I think there are very few teams that don’t have serious aspirations of being at the top, of fighting for medals and important positions. And China is no exception, it’s a very great team in general, with very good players in everything,” said Méndez at a press conference organised by the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE).

Regarding his first impressions, Méndez highlighted “arriving at the Villa and little else.” “I’m really looking forward to playing in a competition as special as this one and it’s true that the first few days are usually complicated because there are a lot of distractions, arriving at the Villa, handing out the accreditations, handing out the rooms…”, he listed.

“The whole landing takes a long time and, thank God, this moment is over. We are trying to focus on what comes immediately after, which is the most important thing, which is the competition. We have had a good training session, we have recovered basics and sensations,” said the Spanish coach about his first contact with these Olympics.

She then praised the captain of the Spanish team, Alba Torrens. “It’s true that Alba and I have met a few times throughout our lives, that she is obviously a special player, but I will also tell you that mother and father are 99% to blame for what Alba has done in her sporting career,” she said about the Valencia Basket forward.

“Surely all of us who have been close to her in her training and professional career will have some nuance that we have put in at some moments of her life and career. But Alba is that kind of athlete, that kind of woman, whose sporting talent is linked to human quality, to her ambition, to her discretion. They are that kind of special athletes and that have surely reached others, regardless of the people who surrounded them,” he added.

“Although, I insist, I like to think that all of us who have been close to her over the years have contributed some grain of sand, of course,” added Méndez before analyzing China, a team against which his pupils already played a month ago in a friendly match. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

“Regarding the match we played in Vigo in preparation, they have received their two most important players in recent weeks. They have played 13 preparation matches for the Games, they have been concentrating for a long time and of course they are a top-level team,” he reiterated.

“We hope to be at our level, we hope to be in the line we want to be, to enjoy our best players at the highest level, to set the pace, to play at the rhythm of the match, to get them out of their usual rhythms of play, out of what they want to do and to hold on to the match, which is what this team does well,” he argued.

He therefore advocated “trying to learn to win when we play badly too.” “And this is something that this team does a lot,” added the Spanish coach. He also regretted that last-minute absences and changes of plans on the fly “are things that happen,” as has happened to him in the configuration of his roster in the inside game.

“Often not all preparation is perfect and we cannot try to put together the team we want. Up to five players have changed from the last European Championship, almost 12 months ago. Changing five players is not easy. But these are the circumstances, they come as they come and we adapt to them. And it is something that this team does very well,” he insisted.

“It’s true that we’ve changed the foundations, it’s true that there’s a pivot who’s no longer here, it’s true that Raquel Carrera isn’t here, it’s true that María Conde isn’t here, they’re our most athletic, most physical players… Well, there are so many things that are around the game that we try to think about what we have, what we are,” he stressed.

“I think we are a very good team, I think we are capable of playing different types of basketball. As I said before, I think we are capable of winning by playing well, but we are also capable of holding on to the game and winning when we don’t play well. And I think that, in this type of championship, this is very important. We are very responsible and very excited to compete in these championships,” concluded Méndez.

2024-07-27 15:43:56
#teams #aspirations #top

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