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Tonight from 9:00 p.m. you can see the interview driven by Betis TV’s colleagues. I hope you like it. You can see it by clicking here.
When I am asked about the best moments in my career as a coach, one of the first that comes to mind is the return to the ACB with CAI Zaragoza. I will always remember that Friday, 9th May 2008. More than a decade of suffering was left behind, a decade of seeing how some of the most loyal fans in the world could only watch the best teams in Spain on TV.
Thinking about it more calmly, the fact of being in the silver category of Spanish basketball is a very succulent reward, but a historic club like CAI could not be content with that. It was a difficult season. The only objective, like in the previous 12 years, was to return to the elite.
We were regular throughout the season. We were always leaders, which gave us the morale to think that this year could be the one. After several matches toying with mathematical promotion, we finally got there with a victory over CB L’Hospitalet by 91 to 64. Fortunately, in this match, which I remember perfectly, we managed to break the scoreboard before the interval, so you can imagine the party in the pavilion during the second half.
What can I say about the fans! Spectacular, great, magnificent… There aren’t enough adjectives to describe all those people who accompanied us on the return to the ACB. We obtained the highest average attendance in Europe in spite of the fact that their team was playing in the Gold ELB. The Príncipe Felipe Pavilion and the city of Zaragoza showed what it is to love basketball. They will always be in my heart and I will be happy for all the good things that happen to them.
I will tell you about my experience at Jilin Northeast Tigers, a team in the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association), a competition followed by millions in China, where there is enormous potential, a market in which basketball is gaining importance. It is another type of basketball, an important cultural shock but a source of knowledge. I will try to explain what basketball is like here.
With new technologies available to all, a match can be seen anywhere in the world in real time or recorded. Here, we will analyse the players or teams, the way they play and develop. In today’s basketball, it is difficult to innovate, take your rival by surprise. Everything is scrutinised, but there is always an explanation. Here we will look at some ideas.
As the saying goes, “you can’t put the cart before the horse”. The team’s tactical work is useless if the players don’t have good skills. The ability to move the ball is an extremely important individual aspect which is reflected in team play. Normally, it is something that is practised in the lower categories and gets forgotten over the years. I feel that it is something that should also be trained in senior and professional teams. If we introduce pair work and competitive exercises, the technical work can be great fun!
You can find a training session focused on ball control and passing below.
As soon as the plane touches down on the runway, you realise that you have just arrived in a totally new world. China is one of the major world powers and this is reflected in its streets, in its cities and in its people. I am sure that my stay here will make me grow as a coach, but also as a person, as the culture, language, personal relations… are all different.
One of the things that has surprised me most is how big everything is. Distances are enormous and moving from one city to another to play a match is always a big trip. Cities like Beijing or Shanghai have over 20 million inhabitants. There are people everywhere and it is crowded wherever you go. Really, it is like a small human anthill!
One aspect about which I am pleasantly surprised is the warmth of the people. Everyone is really friendly and helpful. They are always willing to help you in everything you need. But, first of all, you need to get them to understand you! Chinese is the only language for them; very few people speak English and the language barrier has been important so far.
Not long ago, I had the pleasure of speaking to Sergio Sánchez, “Pinzas” to his colleagues at MARCA. In the report, “China clones the NBA”, they pinpointed perfectly the change that the CBA has undergone in recent years: referees, wages, players, journalists… I also tell briefly of my experience on arrival there.
Don’t miss this interesting text! You can read it here or by clicking on this link
As you can imagine, my command of Chinese still has a long way to go. I know how to say a few everyday words and I have learnt those that are most repeated in training sessions, but here, you rely on the interpreter for almost everything.
All teams have this person. He is usually a young guy, who speaks English and in some cases, understands something about basketball. In our team, none of the Chinese players speak English and therefore the method of communicating is via “Pancake” (as the translator is called). They normally all give themselves an English name, as they say that we are not able to say their Chinese name properly. His name is Huoo, but all of the players, even the Chinese, call him Pancake.
Pancake becomes your shadow during training. Wherever I go, he comes with me. He translates all of the instructions, corrections, words of encouragement, etc and he even gets angry if I raise my voice. Or at least, that seems to be the case….
Another curious thing is that one of the players is called by his number by his teammates. Therefore, we have “Number Five” in the team, who is our starting point guard and played in this year’s Rockies match in the All Star CBA.
Communication outside the training sessions is another story. Pancake is not there. Even at the Hotel, there are not many people who speak English and you have to use the new technologies for anything you need. We get by with an i-phone application that appears to translate into Chinese quite well. You write what you need in English and show the photo… and you do that for everything, in taxis, restaurants, shops…
1. The eliminations start today by vying for the title that the best 8 classified of the league out of the regular 20 teams.
2. Double Spanish presence in the playoffs. Ranked 5th ( Jilin Northeast Tigers) in second ( Liaoning Jiebao Hunters) of @sergiopinzas.
3. The title favourites Guandong, Beijing and Liaoning have been the only teams capable of winning on the Guandong court.
4. Playoffs. Quarter final and semi final to the best of 5 games, only the final will be played best of 7 games.
5. The 1-2-1-1 format with the first field of the worst rated, may make the playoffs more equalized. Would this be possible in Spain?
6. All matches are televised live with special coverage on national TV to the playoffs by the Jilin Beijing Channel CCTV5.
7. CBA playoffs. 26 wins were necessary to enter 8th. It was not decided until the last round of the game. Andray Blatche’s powerful team Xinjang Fliying Tigers are now out.
8. It has been a trying year with a heavy cost to the team. Tied 27-11 record from the fourth to the seventh.
9. The great dominators are Guandong and Liaoning @sergiopinzas who has been presented as a clear candidate to win the league ending with only 4 and 5 defeats.
10. Congratulations to @sergiopinzas for the enormous amount of work and effort with Liaoning. If only we could reach the final! Let’s go!
A few days ago I had the pleasure of attending to my friend Pablo Bernabe who conducted an interview for his website Mi Pizarra de Basket. You can read it below or by clicking here.
BLOG MY BASKETBALL BOARD Interviews
Today a great Andalusian coach and friend who is currently in China working for the Jilin Northeast Tigers team visits our interview section.
Curro Segura has a long professional career that starts from his native Granada, touring through numerous ACB and Leb (Linense, Tenerife, Menorca, Zaragoza, Obradorio, Unicaja Málaga …) as well as having a small background as a National Team last year in Kuwait
Throughout his professional career he has worked alongside great national and international coaches such as Pedro Martínez, Jasmin Repesa, etc.
Curro is a great communicator who has delighted us with many coaches in his talks and Clinics where he shows his great knowledge about our sport.
From these lines I want to thank him for his generosity in the numerous occasions I have had to deal with him for different reasons and he has always been receptive, collaborative and above all close. I would like to wish you the best of luck in your most immediate future because technicians of this profile are very necessary in our basketball.
I leave the “Face to Face” with the good Curro Segura
1) What is your first memory related to basketball?
The Minibasket baskets that were in my College of the Company of Mary in Granada.
2) What led you to dedicate yourself to him professionally?
That the coaches I had would like to sign me as an assistant and not as a player, hahahahaha
3) Your best and most bitter memory lived on a basketball court
The best memories I have are both promotions to the ACB league, in Menorca and Zaragoza, they were very different but in both there were indelible memories of how happy people were.
My worst memory was the knee injury
4) Who are your referents as coaches?
Something is learned from each coach but by how they have been able to play their teams, Popovic in the USA, Obradovic in Europe and Pedro Martinez in Spain.
5) What is your daily life like today?
Hotel-Pavilion-Hotel-Avion-Hotel-Pavilion-Hotel-Pavilion-Hotel-Avion….
6) Players who have passed through your hands and left you an indelible mark
I can not fail to name Larry Lewis for his extraordinary work ethic and then I would tell you that from almost all the bases that I have coach I have learned many things and I have had enough complicity, Lucas Vitoriano, Tisi Reynés, Nico Gianella, Oscar González, Salva Camps, Mario Bruno Fernández, Maxi Stanic, … Andre Turner …
7) How do you spend your free time?
Well, I try to be with family and friends and do sports, if possible any aquatic sport.
8) What differences do you appreciate in the basketball of other countries with respect to the national? (competitive level, professionalism, infrastructure, media impact, etc.)
Today our basketball is highly valued outside our borders. But, in each country there are differences in terms of operation, structures, etc. and the one that has been considered 2nd best league in the world such as the ACB, every time it has closer other leagues that are growing a lot and that in some cases, we could already Say they have advanced us. In Germany or in China you can see the full pavilions every day and they are two leagues in clear growth.
9) In your opinion, what three qualities should a good coach meet?
10) Tips for all those who start in this beautiful passion to train
Never lose that passion to learn, our profession is wonderful and enormously rich in concepts and ways of working. Forever!!! It can be learning.
Personal
11) Favorite color
Green
12) Favorite number
7
13) Beach or mountain
Beach
14) A book, a movie and a song
The Art of War – Life is Beautiful – Beautiful Day (U2)
15) A historical character
Mandela
16) Place to spend the holidays
Minorca
17) What three things would you take to a desert island?
Health, ingenuity and strength
18) If you could go back in time, you wouldn’t …
Continue in the Obradorio when they stopped Miguel Juane, my intention was to resign and in the end I did not
19) Some dream to fulfill
It’s a secret …. It will happen
20) To end the interview, do you want to add something?
Thank you Pablo !!!! A hug
Thank you