Europe, get ready: “I thought people had forgotten me, this year I want to remind everyone who I am”
He Partizan by Joan Penarroya has become one of the great surprises of this start of the season in the Euroleague. The Serbian team maintains its total of victories after a previous season marked by injuries and difficulties, and has found in Carlik Jones to one of its great references. The American point guard also seems to have regained the confidence and continuity that he lacked last season.
“The team’s rapport is improving and the atmosphere is excellent right now. It’s an incredible feeling when everything goes as planned,” he explains. Jones in statements to ‘Meridian Sport’. The American especially highlights the atmosphere within the locker room and the connection between players who have assumed their corresponding role from the first moment.
“Each one understands his role and values what others contribute to the team. The most important thing is that we always support each other,” says the point guard, who has already left his first great letter of introduction in the competition, being chosen MVP of the first day of the Euroleague.
own Jones He considers that a good part of the team’s improvement has to do with adapting to the demands of Peñarroya. “When someone makes a mistake, we don’t let them get discouraged, we encourage them. I also think we are applying much better what the coach insists on us to do: the small details, a faster pace of play, our defense. We are more focused on their demands and everyone has accepted their role“he explains.
For Jonesthis season also represents an opportunity to leave behind a particularly complicated year in which injuries barely allowed him to have continuity. “This was probably the first summer in the last three years that I’ve been healthy,” he says. “I felt like I had missed a lot of things last season because of the injury. I also thought that people had forgotten about me. I was out for four or five months. Therefore, this season I want to prove my worth and remind everyone who I am“he adds.
This Thursday, with a Partizan released, the Serbian team visits Real Madrid (8:45 p.m.) in the Movistar Arenawhere he will seek to maintain his condition. “They really want to win and are very motivated. It is their first game at home, they will want to win in front of their fans. We have to continue like now, trust each other and stay focused,” he warns. “Things may not turn out the way we want, but as long as we fight and stay true to what we know how to do, I think we have good chances against any rival“he concludes.
