“We’ll need everyone” | OneFootball

With the Portuguese Basketball League playoff final tied and the third clássico approaching, Jhonathan Dunn set the tone for FC Porto as the series returns to Dragão Arena against Benfica. The American spoke about ambition, competitive demands, and the need for the team to perform at the highest level, while also making a direct appeal to the stands. At the heart of his message was one simple but demanding idea: “We’re going to need everyone.”

After two games at the Pavilhão da Luz in Lisbon, with one win for each side in this best-of-five final, the atmosphere is that of a duel with no room for distractions. Jhonathan Dunn emerged as the voice of confidence for an FC Porto side that knows what it has already shown in the series and is sticking to the same approach: repeat the response from Game 2 and bring that identity back home.

Asked about the possibility of repeating the Game 2 performance, the blue-and-white player got straight to the point, without unnecessary caution or hesitation. Ambition was closely tied to belief in the team’s collective strength.

“We’re ambitious, we’re ready, and we know what we can do,” he said. “We’ve shown that we have the team to beat them, and now we have to do the same in the next game.”

In Dunn’s words is a team that is not hiding behind the balance of the series. The tie is not seen as a comfort, but as proof that FC Porto has already found a way to hurt its rival and knows it will have to do so again.

Looking back at the win at the Luz, Dunn pointed to the foundation of everything that, in his view, changed from one game to the next. His explanation focused on the physical, mental, and competitive side of things.

“The key was to play hard. In the first game we weren’t at our strongest, but in the second game we definitely were,” he explained. “We have to fight and never give up, that’s the key.”

The picture is clear: in a final, technical details matter, but the ability to suffer and persist carries just as much weight, if not more. Dunn summed up a set of demands that FC Porto wants to carry into the third clássico, built on resilience and intensity.

When the conversation turned to the keys to success in the next game, the message became shorter in words and broader in intent. Dunn boiled the plan down to three ideas that work almost like a motto.

“Determination, hard work and unity. Only that way will we be able to win this game.”

More than just a decorative formula, the answer reveals the kind of identity FC Porto wants to assert at a moment of maximum pressure. At the same time, it sets up the promise of the image the team wants to show its supporters.

Asked what kind of FC Porto would be seen on the court, Dunn promised a version with no holding back, one worthy of the occasion and the demands of the final. The message was one of commitment to the highest competitive level.

“The fans are going to see our best. We know we’re in a final, so we’re going onto the court to show our best and play our best.”

There is no room here for emotional management or half-measures. The final pushes the team to its highest level, and Dunn made a point of embracing that openly ahead of a game that could tip the balance of the series.

Near the end, the American turned the conversation beyond the lines of the court and brought the Porto family to center stage. In a big showdown, home support plays too.

“We’re going to need everyone. These are two huge games and we have the chance to close it out at home.”

The appeal completes the circle of a statement built on confidence and urgency. With the series tied and Dragão Arena about to host the next chapter, Dunn made FC Porto’s script clear: compete with toughness, stay united, and turn the energy at home into a decisive factor.

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