ElNono
02-14-2015, 01:51 PM
Tiago Splitter: "Manu was the first to help me when I arrived to San Antonio"
The San Antonio Spurs player spoke with canchallena in New York about Ginobili, San Antonio and Brazilian's basketball great present. Splitter traveled to New York to help in the NBA Cares program surrounding the All Star game.
NEW YORK.- In the kind of game that coach Gregg Popovich proposes, every piece is vital to construct a team that always contends for a championship. And while the start of this season was rough for the Spurs, Tiago Splitter's role on the team is always important. In his 5th season in the league, he looks even more solid. Even though it was difficult for him to adapt to the NBA game, it was an argentine that guided him when he joined the north-american league.
"Manu Ginobili was one of the guys that helped me the most when I arrived in San Antonio. I spoke to him in spanish and everything was easier for me at the beginning", says Tiago in the NBA offices in New York. Splitter, who is married to a woman from Spain, traveled to Europe when he was 15 years old to develop his career.
Surprisingly, at that moment it was another argentine that helped the Brazilian when he was just a teenager: Luis Scola, who in 2001 was playing for Caja Laboral, "adopted" little Splitter in his first few years in Spain.
- On the court there's a very fluid and natural relationship with Manu, is it the same outside the court?
We're latino players and think alike, perhaps a bit different than how north american players do. We're a team with a lot of nationalities, and we take care of each other. I'm sure the help he provided outside the court helped me inside the court.
- Why did the team had a slow start to the season?
It's true we're not playing at the level we want to play, but last year we started the playoffs poorly and then we peaked in the Finals against Miami.
We're working to improve, we watch film, but we don't have a lot of time to practice because the schedule is fairly intense. We're aware and concerned, but we've played better the last few games, we won 9 of the last 12 games. I think we're playing better.
- Why is there more and more Brazilian players in the NBA?
We're a big country and we've improved a lot in Brazil. The big quantity of players allows you to find quality, and there's more and more people playing the game in our country. Argentina was an example to us: they have a lot of kids playing basketball. For us, it's a challenge looking at the future.
- Does winning a NBA championship with San Antonio helped to promote basketball in Brazil?
Yeah, but unfortunately we won the championship just when the soccer world cup was starting, but nonetheless, it helped. More and more people know me, the Spurs, the NBA, so it was certainly helpful.
Original in spanish here: http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1768027-tiago-splitter-manu-fue-el-primero-que-me-ayudo-cuando-llegue-a-san-antonio
The San Antonio Spurs player spoke with canchallena in New York about Ginobili, San Antonio and Brazilian's basketball great present. Splitter traveled to New York to help in the NBA Cares program surrounding the All Star game.
NEW YORK.- In the kind of game that coach Gregg Popovich proposes, every piece is vital to construct a team that always contends for a championship. And while the start of this season was rough for the Spurs, Tiago Splitter's role on the team is always important. In his 5th season in the league, he looks even more solid. Even though it was difficult for him to adapt to the NBA game, it was an argentine that guided him when he joined the north-american league.
"Manu Ginobili was one of the guys that helped me the most when I arrived in San Antonio. I spoke to him in spanish and everything was easier for me at the beginning", says Tiago in the NBA offices in New York. Splitter, who is married to a woman from Spain, traveled to Europe when he was 15 years old to develop his career.
Surprisingly, at that moment it was another argentine that helped the Brazilian when he was just a teenager: Luis Scola, who in 2001 was playing for Caja Laboral, "adopted" little Splitter in his first few years in Spain.
- On the court there's a very fluid and natural relationship with Manu, is it the same outside the court?
We're latino players and think alike, perhaps a bit different than how north american players do. We're a team with a lot of nationalities, and we take care of each other. I'm sure the help he provided outside the court helped me inside the court.
- Why did the team had a slow start to the season?
It's true we're not playing at the level we want to play, but last year we started the playoffs poorly and then we peaked in the Finals against Miami.
We're working to improve, we watch film, but we don't have a lot of time to practice because the schedule is fairly intense. We're aware and concerned, but we've played better the last few games, we won 9 of the last 12 games. I think we're playing better.
- Why is there more and more Brazilian players in the NBA?
We're a big country and we've improved a lot in Brazil. The big quantity of players allows you to find quality, and there's more and more people playing the game in our country. Argentina was an example to us: they have a lot of kids playing basketball. For us, it's a challenge looking at the future.
- Does winning a NBA championship with San Antonio helped to promote basketball in Brazil?
Yeah, but unfortunately we won the championship just when the soccer world cup was starting, but nonetheless, it helped. More and more people know me, the Spurs, the NBA, so it was certainly helpful.
Original in spanish here: http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1768027-tiago-splitter-manu-fue-el-primero-que-me-ayudo-cuando-llegue-a-san-antonio