In his remarks, Joan Penaroya addressed the challenges posed by Partizan’s away game against Paris tomorrow (9:45 p.m.), emphasizing the need for his team to contain the French side’s fast-paced play.
At the same time, the “black-and-whites’” coach addressed the injury situation, noting that Zofrie Loverne is not expected to be available for tomorrow’s game, while expressing his confidence in his team and the work being done in training.
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Here is what he said in detail:
On the upcoming game:
“The most important thing right now is to keep building the team. The game against Milan was our first. We played well, but now we have a new match ahead of us. Whether we win or lose, the next game is always different. This will be our first road game, against Paris, which plays completely differently from Milan. They’re a dangerous team. They like to play fast and score in the first few seconds of their offense. We have to be ready to stop them, especially in the first eight to nine seconds of their attacks. Paris is very aggressive on defense. They often rotate players, but they also defend very aggressively, especially in pick-and-roll situations.”
On the strong defensive performance against Milan:
“The game against Armani Milan was just the first one. We can be satisfied, but it was just one game. Now we need to stay calm and hope that we’ll be able to play very good defense in the upcoming games as well.”
On Derek Willis’s injury, the presence of Banja Si, and the return of Zofray Loverne:
“It’s Murphy’s Law, isn’t it? We need to add another player to the team, especially at the ‘4’ position. In our first official game, Derek was only able to play for one minute. That’s a problem. Now we have Shi as an option, who’s been training with us for the past five to six weeks. Zofrie should be back in three or four days. I don’t think he’ll be able to play against Paris, but right now his condition is improving ahead of the match against Bayern.”
On his confidence in the team and the challenge of the away game:
“I have confidence in my team because we’re working hard in practice and have a good team atmosphere. I believe we still have plenty of time to improve both offensively and defensively. The players’ attitude is very positive. However, playing on the road in the EuroLeague isn’t easy, and a tough game awaits us tomorrow. We have to be ready, because Paris is a very athletic team. It’s yet another challenge for us to face an opponent that’s completely different from Milan.”
*photo source: euroleaguebasketball.net
