Israel Gonzalez looks beyond win against Olimpia Milano
Coach Israel Gonzalez in Corriere dello Sport returned to talk about Trieste’s success against Olimpia Milano, which just the next day changed coach, moving from Ettore Messina to Peppe Poeta.
Beyond the Milanese revolution, the Spanish coach took the opportunity to get some stones off his shoe: “I don“t forget that after the loss against Cremona we were painted, even rightly, a bit’as the worst of the worst: it had been a bad game. But this group knows how to pull together to overcome obstacles”.
That against Olimpia was not an isolated victory: “We inflicted the first European defeat on Galatasaray and then stopped Milan, one of the favorites with Virtus Bologna for the scudetto. An exceptional reaction. However, I preach calm, balance because we are at the’beginning of the season”.
Gonzalez is clear in his mind: “Meanwhile, one goal is to recover Ross and Brooks from injuries. Of course, we would be inside the Italian Cup Final Eight today but the board will be decided further down the road. We have to keep our feet on the ground and live from game to game. The Italian Serie A I had experienced it from the outside, there is a balance with high individual and team values. Anyone can lose to anyone else. That makes it very fascinating.”
“The idea is to try to win by playing well, showing fun basketball. I like to get a lot of possessions, get the guys running, and I can say we are improving defensively as well. I was chosen to follow up on what was the philosophy of last season. It takes time and patience”, he concluded.
