“Did they hold such a secret meeting after the defeat of the Japanese?”
“Of course, but the topic now was not what needs to be improved, but how.” What to keep from it Which we presented on Friday. It was primarily about focus and mentality, which had to be maintained against the Spanish. There was no celebration, as there is nothing to celebrate yet, and we have not yet achieved our goal of beating the Olympic silver medalist.
We need liberation
– In each summary you can see his hat-trick, when he clearly wants to pass, but there is no one, so he aims at the ring from a distance. What was on your mind at the time?
– I was surprised because they held me so tight the whole match, and now I was left alone, and the Japanese don't often make such a big mistake in defense. In the first half, I didn't even get a free throw either from outside or under the backboard. I wanted to pass Hattar Beti, but she was caught, and then I noticed that there was no one but me. I had to accept it, and I felt like this trio would work.
– The Spaniards are next, a team that, unlike Canada and Japan, plays usual European basketball. What could be the key to defeating them?
– We are young, the Spaniards are routine classical players, we know them well, they are dangerous from the outside and from the inside, so we will have a very difficult time. Once they get the leads, it is almost impossible to stop them.
We have to watch ourselves, especially to start well, we can't allow a nine to ten point gap again in the first minutes. Team defense can be the deciding factor, it's not a problem at all if there aren't a lot of baskets, let's just win.
It is very important that we play relaxed, enjoy the game and smile, because then we can perform well. We didn't smile much against Canada, we lacked freedom, but we actually had both against Japan, which is also essential for success. And of course the audience, we are counting on the support of the fans again.
