Jaume Ponsarnau, head coach of Surne Bilbao, offered no excuses for his team's clear defeat against Barcelona at Palau Blaugrana. The game concluded with a 90-61 score, highlighting the black-and-whites' dismal offensive performance, particularly in the first half where they managed only 23 points. This allowed Xavi Pascual's team to build an insurmountable lead.
“"We respected them so much that we stopped respecting ourselves."
The coach from Tàrrega expressed regret that his team failed to adhere to its own identity, the characteristics that have allowed them to contend for play-off positions. He emphasized their poor and soft play in offense, noting that offensive inaccuracies and poor decisions also impacted their defensive efforts. According to Ponsarnau, the primary failure lay in the team's convictions and playing style, with too many individual responses and too few collective ones, preventing them from performing at the required level.
Ponsarnau attempted to find solutions by trying different configurations, but nothing worked against the Catalan side. He also pointed out a lack of energy in his team, stating that the opponents possessed both strength and energy. Even from the free-throw line, the team showed weakness. The coach suggested that they might not have approached the game correctly due to various factors on their minds, such as the upcoming FIBA Europe Cup final and the opportunity presented by direct rivals' losses for a play-off spot. Nevertheless, he stressed the importance of respecting themselves from the outset and playing good basketball.
Ponsarnau hopes that Sunday's game will not overshadow the good work the team has done in recent months, nor will it impact Surne Bilbao's competitive goals. While dissatisfied with the immediate result, he expressed overall satisfaction with the season. He believes the group is very strong and, precisely because of this, will provide an appropriate response after this poor performance. Next week, they face a crucial home game against Baxi Manresa, followed by the final, which they aim to win, but they acknowledge that they must perform much better than they did today to achieve that.
