Fernando Sá: “I think we surprised a lot of people” | OneFootball

FC Porto coach Fernando Sá believes FC Porto “surprised a lot of people” by winning the national basketball championship, going against the favoritism of Benfica, winners of the previous four editions.

The Dragons wrapped up the final in four games (3-1), following a clear response to the heavy defeat in the first game (89-73), against a Benfica side that failed to react after losing at home in the second meeting (102-98, after overtime).

“I think we surprised a lot of people, at least from the feedback I got from fans and people less close to the club. It was clear there was a great deal of disbelief throughout the season. Even beating Sporting in the semifinals surprised many, above all because of the level we showed,” he admitted in an interview with Lusa, after a regular season in which the ‘blue and whites’ finished only in third place.

After victories in the playoff rounds against Imortal (2-0) and Sporting (3-1), Fernando Sá’s team could have been shaken by the first defeat at Pavilhão da Luz, but the coach tried to convince the players that it would be possible to challenge the Eagles for the title if they improved their offensive efficiency. “It wasn’t a well-played game, but not because of a lack of competitiveness, as the score might suggest. It was because of our low percentages. Benfica’s 89 points, under those circumstances, gave us signs that it was possible. In anyone’s eyes, that had been a brilliant game by Benfica. I showed the players — with numbers it’s easier to explain — that we could have competed in the game if we had been at our level,” he explained.

Two days later, again in Lisbon, FC Porto took away Benfica’s home-court advantage by securing a decisive win in Game 2, in a highly emotional match that the coach does not hesitate to place among the best of his long career.

The Dragons came back from an 11-point deficit in the final quarter and forced overtime after making it 94-94, eventually winning thanks to the performance of Cornelius Hudson, who finished with 41 points and was decisive in the key moments. “We also felt that luck was on our side, which is fundamental, whether people like it or not. We were 10 points behind, with three or four minutes left, and all our decisions worked out perfectly. Perfectly, because the ball went in. If it hadn’t gone in, none of this could have happened. We also had that little bit of luck that champions need,” Fernando Sá noted.

From that point on, with the final tied on the return to Porto, the coach realized, from the strong turnout at Dragão Arena, that the club’s first national title in 10 years was no longer going to slip away. “The weight of the fans, with a full house, counts for a lot. It was crucial against Sporting and Benfica to bring back an away win; I think that gave our fans hope and expectation and created a positive atmosphere. After seeing the atmosphere in Game 3, I knew we weren’t going to lose the next one. I remember thinking: ‘Like this, they’re not going to be able to beat us,’” he revealed, thanking the support from the stands.

FC Porto ended up managing the key moments of both home games safely, despite facing some difficulties in the last one, and thus avoided the need to play a fifth game at Benfica’s home court. “I don’t know whether Benfica wavered or not, but that’s not something that normally happens at Benfica, which has players very used to this kind of pressure. I think there was one aspect in which we were clearly better than our rivals: physical levels. The work done by our performance department allowed us to reach the playoffs in better physical condition,” he concluded.

On June 14, FC Porto won its 13th national basketball championship, Fernando Sá’s first as a coach in the top senior division, restoring to the club’s honors a crown it had not claimed since 2015/16.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.