Valencia Basket coach, Jaume Ponsarnau, was “disappointed” because his team did not get “the right collective spirit” in the defeat against Real Madrid this Thursday at the start of the Copa del Rey at the WiZink Center. “I am disappointed because we have not had the proper collective spirit, I feel responsible as a coach,” he said at a press conference, after the ‘taronja’ team was always in tow of the current champion and host.
Ponsarnau pointed out that there was hardly a moment of inspiration in his team, within a very demanding clash in the physical. “We started the game like you to you and we were losing all the duels. It was wanting and not being able, at times it seemed that we had energy to return to the game but our mistake weighed down,” he said. “We got a 15-0 run in the third quarter, but the fouls were called to one side and the game was decided on the bonus that came early in the last quarter. For our part, we have committed many errors of precipitation, of not playing basketball well, of not understanding that our game is collective. We have done things well, but others quite badly. Madrid have played smart to win the game. We have not been at the level we wanted to be and Madrid has been better, “he concluded.