La Laguna Tenerife will be looking to secure their first victory in the Endesa League in Málaga, following their defeat on the opening day against Casademont Zaragoza and their victory in the EuroCup against Türk Telekom, as they face Unicaja, led by a familiar face for the black-and-yellows: Txus Vidorreta.
«Facing our former coach gives us even more motivation to play well and go for the win,» said the Canaries‘ current head coach, Jaka Lakovic, at a press conference.
«We need to put the bad luck we had against Zaragoza behind us and turn that defeat against Unicaja round,» he said.
La Laguna, Tenerife: Unicaja's squad calls for a tight defence
Speaking about the Málaga side, Lakovic remarked that they are an opponent «who have made a good start to the season despite their defeats», as they have shown themselves to be «solid» against opponents such as Real Madrid, to whom they lost 89-87 on the opening day.
«They’ve put together a very well-rounded, very deep squad,» he said, referring to the signing of former NBA player Matt Thomas and Tyler Kalinoski’s return to fitness.
«They have the squad to compete at the highest level and all positions are very well covered,» he added.
However, injuries are hampering the green-and-purple side’s start to the league season, and the team will take to the court at the Martín Carpena without point guard Alberto Díaz, whilst Kalinoski’s availability remains in doubt.
«We all know that Alberto is a defensive specialist who sets the tone for the team, but I think they’ll continue to play aggressively with Melvin Panzar,» said the Slovenian, who, regardless of who plays, believes that Marcelinho Huertas «is well prepared» to handle the situation.
Lakovic also highlighted the presence of Willy Hernangómez in the paint and said that it would be necessary to «prevent him from receiving the ball in the paint» and to improve on defensive rebounding.
«We have to solve this problem as a team – it’s not just down to the big men; we all have to work together to secure the defensive rebound and break away,» he said.
London Lions: A packed fixture list calls for mental resilience
Lakovic has confirmed that 14 players will travel to Málaga and that the team will continue on to London, where they will face the London Lions on Tuesday in another EuroCup fixture.
The manager has said that «we need to get used to this pace» of two matches a week until the FIBA break, and also accept that all our opponents will be tough.
«It’s difficult to play a final every three days; it will be very tough mentally to keep going like this until December, but those who manage it are the champions,» he said.
«We need to foster that mindset here; many of our leaders already have it and pass it on to the new players,» he insisted.
«Basketball: La Laguna Tenerife chase first league win at Unicaja»
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