By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Berlin, Germany – Most fans rushed to rule out Spain managing to extend their run in the later stages of the 2022 EuroBasket knockout tournament, let alone reaching the gold medal game. Juancho Hernangomez, a member of the 2019 FIBA World Cup champions, revealed the connection between the present and the past and sheds light on lasting winning ways.
“All the values that they taught us are still in the team,” he explained talking in the mixed zone following the win against Germany, “We battled against all odds. Everyone in the locker room knew what we are capable of doing. At the start of the tournament, I know nobody counted on us. We kept dreaming and delivering surprises.”
Trusting Sergio Scariolo and the remaining members of the coaching staff is another reason La Roja is still around.
“Compared to the players, the coaches put in much more work. They stay up late at night to work on each game, planning and studying scouting reports,” Hernangomez praised, “There is ‘Plan A’, ‘Plan B’, ‘Plan Z’, and…”
“The first one did not work. Dennis [Schroder] scored 30 points, so we tried to adapt,” the Toronto Raptors player said focusing on Friday’s Semifinal, “There is a lot of work done behind all this and we simply follow the game plan. We are those executing those plans, but there a quite a few people working on them. They are basketball engineers. We believe in them and are still here.”
Hernangomez, 26, averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game helping Spain top Tbilisi’s Group A and take down Lithuania, Finland, and Germany in Berlin.
The final chapter is facing France in the gold medal to be held in Mercedes-Benz Arena Sunday evening.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL