Bologna –
Coach Luca Banchi spoke in press conference after the game against Fenerbahce : “Another difficult game, which confirms our level that makes us compete against everyone. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the ability to get the job done yet: I understand that our record is not good and this definitely contributes to bring tension and pressure. I know what the boys want, that they deserve a different outcome. Now we have to have the awareness that we have confirmed that we have weapons to compete against anyone: our position in the standings perhaps creates an emotional state that limits us in the end of the game, where we need to be lucid to avoid small mistakes on which we still recriminate today: missed free throws, technical fouls that had a heavy impact in the economy of the game, it almost seems like a curse. I want to stay focused on what we can control: the growth in terms of the team, the growth of some players. Tonight at some junctures we gave the feeling that we could control the contest. In the last quarter the 30 points conceded jarred with the 56 points conceded in the 30th minute. In the last quarter for Fener there were 10 free throws and 50% from three-point range: from there we feel the heaviness of these sprint defeats. Our opponents were not perfect: they always found the play that helped them bring home the game, we still have to be able to find those resources. There were many episodes to have recriminations about: some are out of our control, we have to focus on those that we can and must improve. With Panathinaikos we had the tying shot, tonight we had the winning shot but first so many opportunities to end the game differently. The number of free throws we had shows that we tried to attack their defense, to take advantages that yielded free throws: given the team structure we have, however, we have to do something more to improve the flow of our game. Tonight Fenerbahce, with the exception of the minutes when Birch was on the court, always played with five players on the perimeter: in the end of the game even on the systematic changeover the decisive three-point shots were born, so there are aspects on which to show that we have something more, without prejudice to the obvious progress that can be seen. The team at the technical and character level had all the attributes to play a game at this level, we still lack the ability to reward our efforts. It’s frustrating but this forces us to focus on the confidence that this season will turn around, even if the heart bleeds.”
