ElNono
10-17-2014, 12:12 AM
“I wish the Spurs could visit Argentina”
Manu Ginobili
SAN ANTONIO.- I just dropped the kids at school. They’ve been going to school for a couple of months now. And the youngest one is growing fast; he’ll be 6 months old next week. I’m enjoying it a lot, after 9 days touring Europe that interrupted the family routine. But everything is spectacular.
At the beginning of training camp we had 5 very intense days in San Antonio to remove the rust and start getting in sync. Things changed when we left for Berlin and Istanbul. I was very excited because it was my first time on both capitals. Actually, I’ve been to both before, but in “euroleague mode”: arrive, eat, sleep, breakfast, play and depart. I couldn’t see anything. The possibility to get to know both cities was exciting, especially with five days in Berlin and three and a half in Istanbul, to do some sight-seeing, a rare occurrence for us.
In Berlin I walked a lot. Their history is fascinating; it’s difficult to believe that all of that happened so recently. And I learned a lot. You watch movies, read books, but being there is different. So it was a very interesting trip.
I obviously went to play too. We were fairly weak in the first game, with a different mentality, and we played against a very inspired team that defended us well, and different than what we’re used to. It took us a while to adapt and they beat us with an incredible shot. I don’t like to lose any game, and we never before lost a game against a FIBA team. Nobody was happy, that’s clear, but we also can’t make a big deal out of our first friendly game, and even less considering that in the US a preseason game weighs a lot less in value than in Argentina or Europe.
Nevertheless, we played to win, and we did the best we could. We did not know Alba Berlin; we didn’t even really talk about them, because at this point in the preseason we’re working on our team, not the opponent. And they really surprised us: they played great and defended fiercely. It was clear that for them playing against us was an unique opportunity, whereas for us it was our first preseason game. They wanted to win more than we did and they beat us. Obviously, after losing such a game, you adjust some things and enter the next game with more determination and care. Against Fenerbahçe we played better, not great, and we still have to improve a lot. But at this point it’s normal that we’re not playing at a high level. We’re still two weeks away to the start of the season, two weeks that are going to be very important.
Istanbul was also interesting. I’ve heard a lot about the Blue Mosque and St Sophia and I wanted to visit them. We put together a group with a guide and we also went to the Topkapi Palace, where the sultans lived for a long time. The second day everybody did their own thing; I went out walking. We also practiced, and fairly hard. And the next day, we played. Everything was great culturally and we were able to have a great experience.
The entire tour was long because, besides of the timezone differences, it was also an exhibition. There’s a practice day with the media in there, some street exhibition for the NBA, camps with kids… We’re not going just to play, but also to promote the league. And the franchise likes that players - especially the young ones - go through a different experience, which cultivates and adds to the group.
It’s true we can’t work overseas with the same level of comfort we have in San Antonio, where we have six baskets, our rehab areas, own gym, etc. In Istanbul there were only two baskets, so practicing shooting was not the same, and we were 40 minutes away from the court… But the tour does help. Not so much on the physical and basketball aspects, but in spending more time with our teammates. We talk, share and keep building a strong group. It’s great. The last time we did something similar was back in 2007 in Paris. I don’t know about doing this every year, but once in a while it’s nice.
By the way, I don’t have many more postseasons left… maybe one more or none, so I doubt I’ll experience another tour. If I had one and could pick, I would love it to be in some Italian city, my favorite. And something I would’ve liked to do was go to Argentina with the Spurs. In 12 seasons, we never did it; I thought it would’ve been cool for what it could’ve meant to take an NBA team over there. I hope it’s next year! I’ve heard some people in Argentina are trying, but it’s not easy. There’s a lot of requirements, meetings, insurance… And it’s difficult to compete against more resourceful cities, like Berlin, Istanbul, Barcelona, Shanghai. But I know the attempt is there. We’ll see if it happens. If I want to have a chance they should hurry up, or Scola will have to enjoy it with Indiana while I watch from the sidelines!
To sum up, I loved this trip. I feel pretty good. I started training camp with a lot of pain in different areas, the same way I finished last season, but with treatment everything has been improving. I have a small problem in the left Achilles, that bothers me mostly in the first few minutes of the game, but apparently the fracture problem is gone. I was also going crazy with a problem on my small toe in the left foot, but it’s improving. So I’m simply poor in physical conditioning: I get tired quickly, I’m still a bit slow… Since I couldn’t do much during the offseason, I’m a few steps behind my teammates and everything is a little harder. But I have no problem starting a bit behind and improving. I’m not great physically or basketball-wise right now, but the important thing is to be healthy, otherwise it’s difficult to get in a rhythm while you’re too tentative or miss games and cannot practice with the rest of the team. I want to be fully healed and eventually gain some rhythm playing the games.
I’m also enthusiastic with the Argentina Basketball Confederation situation, and we’re always asking and informing ourselves. We said change was necessary and now that we can start seeing what was going on there’s no doubt about it. There will be a long and intense work to reorganize and sort everything out. It’s being worked on. It was the right decision to make and we’re optimist that there will be a solution. Again, it was a sound decision and it’s for the well being of out basketball.
Same thing will happen with the National League, that’s making changes to improve competition and structure. Both organizations will need to work hand in hand, for the good of the game in our country, to make it more professional, more serious. And I think it will happen.
It takes time. The audit of the Confederation is almost complete.
You’ve probably seen a few days ago a photo with Lady Gaga… Turns out that after the game ended, I found out she was at the arena - she sang there the next day -, that she was a Spurs fan, and that she wanted us, and me, to meet her because I was one of her favorite players, or something like that. I looked around asking “Are you sure it’s me?”. She had a dressing room about 50 feet from our locker room. I went over there, I said hi, we talked for a while, we had a picture taken, and she told me she just watched us play and I was one of her favorites players. I asked her if she was sure, if she didn’t confuse me with somebody else, that I was #20… and she said that it was actually me. I thanked her for the kind words and left.
To each his own..
-----------------------------------
Original Article in Spanish here:
http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1735808-la-columna-de-manu-ginobili-ojala-vaya-con-los-spurs-a-la-argentina
Manu Ginobili
SAN ANTONIO.- I just dropped the kids at school. They’ve been going to school for a couple of months now. And the youngest one is growing fast; he’ll be 6 months old next week. I’m enjoying it a lot, after 9 days touring Europe that interrupted the family routine. But everything is spectacular.
At the beginning of training camp we had 5 very intense days in San Antonio to remove the rust and start getting in sync. Things changed when we left for Berlin and Istanbul. I was very excited because it was my first time on both capitals. Actually, I’ve been to both before, but in “euroleague mode”: arrive, eat, sleep, breakfast, play and depart. I couldn’t see anything. The possibility to get to know both cities was exciting, especially with five days in Berlin and three and a half in Istanbul, to do some sight-seeing, a rare occurrence for us.
In Berlin I walked a lot. Their history is fascinating; it’s difficult to believe that all of that happened so recently. And I learned a lot. You watch movies, read books, but being there is different. So it was a very interesting trip.
I obviously went to play too. We were fairly weak in the first game, with a different mentality, and we played against a very inspired team that defended us well, and different than what we’re used to. It took us a while to adapt and they beat us with an incredible shot. I don’t like to lose any game, and we never before lost a game against a FIBA team. Nobody was happy, that’s clear, but we also can’t make a big deal out of our first friendly game, and even less considering that in the US a preseason game weighs a lot less in value than in Argentina or Europe.
Nevertheless, we played to win, and we did the best we could. We did not know Alba Berlin; we didn’t even really talk about them, because at this point in the preseason we’re working on our team, not the opponent. And they really surprised us: they played great and defended fiercely. It was clear that for them playing against us was an unique opportunity, whereas for us it was our first preseason game. They wanted to win more than we did and they beat us. Obviously, after losing such a game, you adjust some things and enter the next game with more determination and care. Against Fenerbahçe we played better, not great, and we still have to improve a lot. But at this point it’s normal that we’re not playing at a high level. We’re still two weeks away to the start of the season, two weeks that are going to be very important.
Istanbul was also interesting. I’ve heard a lot about the Blue Mosque and St Sophia and I wanted to visit them. We put together a group with a guide and we also went to the Topkapi Palace, where the sultans lived for a long time. The second day everybody did their own thing; I went out walking. We also practiced, and fairly hard. And the next day, we played. Everything was great culturally and we were able to have a great experience.
The entire tour was long because, besides of the timezone differences, it was also an exhibition. There’s a practice day with the media in there, some street exhibition for the NBA, camps with kids… We’re not going just to play, but also to promote the league. And the franchise likes that players - especially the young ones - go through a different experience, which cultivates and adds to the group.
It’s true we can’t work overseas with the same level of comfort we have in San Antonio, where we have six baskets, our rehab areas, own gym, etc. In Istanbul there were only two baskets, so practicing shooting was not the same, and we were 40 minutes away from the court… But the tour does help. Not so much on the physical and basketball aspects, but in spending more time with our teammates. We talk, share and keep building a strong group. It’s great. The last time we did something similar was back in 2007 in Paris. I don’t know about doing this every year, but once in a while it’s nice.
By the way, I don’t have many more postseasons left… maybe one more or none, so I doubt I’ll experience another tour. If I had one and could pick, I would love it to be in some Italian city, my favorite. And something I would’ve liked to do was go to Argentina with the Spurs. In 12 seasons, we never did it; I thought it would’ve been cool for what it could’ve meant to take an NBA team over there. I hope it’s next year! I’ve heard some people in Argentina are trying, but it’s not easy. There’s a lot of requirements, meetings, insurance… And it’s difficult to compete against more resourceful cities, like Berlin, Istanbul, Barcelona, Shanghai. But I know the attempt is there. We’ll see if it happens. If I want to have a chance they should hurry up, or Scola will have to enjoy it with Indiana while I watch from the sidelines!
To sum up, I loved this trip. I feel pretty good. I started training camp with a lot of pain in different areas, the same way I finished last season, but with treatment everything has been improving. I have a small problem in the left Achilles, that bothers me mostly in the first few minutes of the game, but apparently the fracture problem is gone. I was also going crazy with a problem on my small toe in the left foot, but it’s improving. So I’m simply poor in physical conditioning: I get tired quickly, I’m still a bit slow… Since I couldn’t do much during the offseason, I’m a few steps behind my teammates and everything is a little harder. But I have no problem starting a bit behind and improving. I’m not great physically or basketball-wise right now, but the important thing is to be healthy, otherwise it’s difficult to get in a rhythm while you’re too tentative or miss games and cannot practice with the rest of the team. I want to be fully healed and eventually gain some rhythm playing the games.
I’m also enthusiastic with the Argentina Basketball Confederation situation, and we’re always asking and informing ourselves. We said change was necessary and now that we can start seeing what was going on there’s no doubt about it. There will be a long and intense work to reorganize and sort everything out. It’s being worked on. It was the right decision to make and we’re optimist that there will be a solution. Again, it was a sound decision and it’s for the well being of out basketball.
Same thing will happen with the National League, that’s making changes to improve competition and structure. Both organizations will need to work hand in hand, for the good of the game in our country, to make it more professional, more serious. And I think it will happen.
It takes time. The audit of the Confederation is almost complete.
You’ve probably seen a few days ago a photo with Lady Gaga… Turns out that after the game ended, I found out she was at the arena - she sang there the next day -, that she was a Spurs fan, and that she wanted us, and me, to meet her because I was one of her favorite players, or something like that. I looked around asking “Are you sure it’s me?”. She had a dressing room about 50 feet from our locker room. I went over there, I said hi, we talked for a while, we had a picture taken, and she told me she just watched us play and I was one of her favorites players. I asked her if she was sure, if she didn’t confuse me with somebody else, that I was #20… and she said that it was actually me. I thanked her for the kind words and left.
To each his own..
-----------------------------------
Original Article in Spanish here:
http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1735808-la-columna-de-manu-ginobili-ojala-vaya-con-los-spurs-a-la-argentina