Comments by Giannis Kastritis ahead of Pallacanestro Openjobmetis Varese-Pallacanestro Trieste:
«Yesterday we had a long day of travel on the way back, and today we met up for the first time since the game. We reviewed the game footage, worked out a bit on the court, and started preparing for the match against Trieste. I have a good feeling about it: I think we’ll be ready tomorrow and have the right mindset. This, too, is part of our journey: it’s the first week we’ve had games so close together, and we need to learn to manage our emotions and not dwell on the past. What’s done is done: we analyze it, learn from it, and prepare for the next game. Right now, it’s crucial to keep our emotions in check, without letting ourselves be overly influenced by either wins or losses. We need to learn from every game and continue to build on our defensive and offensive habits. That’s also why the work we did during preseason is so important: when you’re playing frequently, there isn’t much time to make changes, and those habits must guide us in every game. We can make adjustments—and we will—but the most important thing will be to come out tomorrow with the right mindset and the desire to play to the best of our ability. Trieste is a team that runs a lot, with players capable of picking up the pace and taking shots on the fast break. In addition, they can cause problems on the offensive boards, even when good defense seems to have brought the possession to a close. We’ll therefore need to limit their fast breaks and be smart in managing their key offensive players and shooters. Above all, we’ll need to build on what we did against Murcia: defensively, we played a solid, very good game. We want to maintain the same level of pressure and energy, but on offense we need to be much sharper and more productive».