Girona’s Greek coach, Fotis Katsikaris, says that Khem Birch is 80% recovered and that he will play against Obradoiro on Sunday.
A strengthened rival with quality
Katsikaris does not hide and recognizes that the game against the Galician team is key to his aspirations: “Every game is a final for us, from the first day. This involves mental effort, but if you get used to it, you will surely be better prepared for any challenge. Without a doubt, this match is very important, we are playing at home against a direct rival”. The Greek coach praises Obradoiro, who has brought in two top players: “He has strengthened himself with two players with a lot of experience and quality who are very much in line with Moncho’s philosophy, how he wants to play. This poses another problem for us, because Obradoiro has players who can score”. He refers to Thomas Scrubb, whom he considers a “Euroleague-level player” and Artem Pustovyi, of whom he emphasizes how he makes a difference on both sides of the court.
A solid and balanced defense
Katsikaris insists on the importance of defense to win the game: “We have to play a solid defense, with few ups and downs. Not losing balls” is his recipe, focused on the task he wanted to work on during the stoppage: “The objective is to find a balance between our defense, which is solid and more physical by putting the body into it, because we can have problems if the let’s play their game”.
The new signings, ready
The coach of Girona is also satisfied with the new signings, the Canadian pivot Khem Birch and the also Canadian baseman Kenny Chery: “Khem is already at 80%, physically ready and with the pace of play he needs. We are very happy with its evolution” he says about the first. Regarding the second, he explains: “He will help us in addition to the aspects of the game that he can score and defend in both positions, I really like his defensive attitude and especially how he pushes his teammates on the court. We didn’t have that in the team and this experience can be good for us”. Finally, Katsikaris admits that he did not expect the intelligence that Michael Caicedo has shown: “He has a lot of physicality and I was surprised by how he has taken the systems”. The coach admits that Corey Davis is still excluded from the discipline of the group and that he will have to leave two players out of the call in addition to the point guard from Louisiana.
