Fernando Sá: “We need to get much closer than we did in the first half” | OneFootball

The presentation of FC Porto's basketball team took place this Tuesday night at Dragão Arena, the venue for the last preparatory match before the official start of the season.

Following the preparatory game against CB Coruña (79-86), Fernando Sá stated that it was possible “to take away very positive things from the first half and very negative things from the second,” pointing to “some resignation” and a “lack of commitment and intensity.” Before the trip to Bulgaria, and aware that the mission “is extremely difficult,” the Porto coach approaches the Champions League qualifying tournament “with great seriousness to try to secure qualification.”

Two Distinct Halves“We can take away very positive things from the first half and very negative things from the second. The lack of commitment and intensity, regardless of whether the shots go in or not, which is normal at this stage of the season, because things still don’t have the necessary quality. There was some resignation considering what the game forced us to do, with the change in Coruña’s aggressive and defensive stance. That’s what we have to work on. We’ve had a tough pre-season, with many players sick, which has hindered our development a bit, and that showed in the second half offensively, but defensively there’s not much justification for it.”

Focus on the Champions League“We have to get much closer to what we did in the first half, in defensive intensity, in the number of rebounds and assists. We finished the first half with ten more rebounds than them and, in the end, we lost by two in that aspect. We finished with 15 assists and only had six in the second half. There are a number of parameters we need to keep up, and we approach Champions League qualification with great seriousness to try to secure our place. We know it’s extremely difficult, there are 24 teams and only three qualify, but we’ll do everything possible to qualify.”

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