Pedro Martínez: “This is not the time to gloat”

The Valencia Basket coach, Pedro Martínez, assessed this Sunday, despite the resounding victory against Barça at the Palau Blaugrana (77-102) that ensures them second place in the regular phase of the Endesa League, the need to focus now on the quarterfinals and avoid any type of relaxation, remembering that they have not yet achieved any goal.

“We changed the competition phase, now the play-off begins, with two victories. It is not the time to look back, nor to make evaluations, nor to gloat, but to recover as quickly as possible for the quarterfinals against Surne Bilbao,” stressed the Catalan coach at a press conference from the Palau Blaugrana.

Martínez also pointed out that it was “good” for the team that Barça was able to recover players like Will Clyburn or Tomas Satoransky for this match, recently discharged from the hospital but still lacking competitive rhythm, a context that, in his opinion, influenced the development of the match.

“I haven’t had the feeling that there hasn’t been a game. Barça has improved a lot in the third quarter, but we have continued to play well and we have responded very well to their offensive and defensive change after the break. It was difficult for them to get into the game, because not having rhythm makes it even more difficult to get into the game in a negative dynamic,” he explained.

With the quarterfinals, which start on June 2, the coach of the Valencian team acknowledged that, despite finishing the regular league in second position and starting as favorites, he does not trust Surne Bilbao, for whom he has “a lot of respect” for the “impressive season” they are having.

“I don’t take the victory for granted at all. They play very well. We are going to try to go in with our ears on edge, knowing that it will be very complicated. A play-off with two wins is very demanding, very even, and we don’t have to look beyond the quarterfinals against a very good team,” he concluded.