I'm proud of our team for the way we are handling our first ever Euroleague experience, but we just came up a bit short playing in Istanbul two nights ago. We left at 5:15 in the morning a few days ago, arrived at around 3, practiced at about 8 p.m., then went to bed. Shoot-around practice was at 12, then we played at 7:30 in a gym that more resembled a high school gym instead of housing the strong Turkish team that it was. It was a shooters' gym however (meaning that on at least two of the sides of each basket was a wall, making vision of the rim much clearer on where to aim). We had the game in our hands. We could smell victory even though we were the underdogs. But then, they made a run, and we ended up losing by 6. The next morning we left at 3:45 in the morning, and I'd be surprised if half of us actually got any sleep... I certainly didn't...
Some of us blamed our coach for not changing how we played pick and rolls, some of us blamed the refs (which seemed valid since two of their players shot 23 free throws together and our whole team shot 9 FT for the night), and I was just frustrated mostly because I felt like I couldn't help out being on the bench most of the night. For whatever reason, I only played 10 minutes--my lowest of the season. I went 3/3 from the three point line, so it wasn't as if I couldn't score, but I hate just sitting there watching us lose. Maybe our coach thought that I would have trouble with my height because their two guards were both about 6' 1", but Penny Taylor had 28 points anyways, so I couldn't have done much worse, I hope. I don't blame anyone, but we still have a chance to take this series because we play here again tomorrow to try and force a game 3 back in Istanbul. I'll keep you guys updated :)
Hi Jami!
ReplyDeleteI think that the only way to win tomorrow is to forget the game of two days ago.
You (and your teammate) have to play without the anxiety to overturn result, this is very very important. Stay mentally relaxed, I hope you will play another great game!
See you at Palamazzola!
Man, sorry, Jam, that seems like a tough loss, even worst because you couldn't give it your all. You know I understand that. You can only do what you can when your in there, and for team-oriented people like us, that doesn't seem to help. get back on the horse, I hope your coach isn't playing you for any other reasons. Keep that good attitude, it has always been your lifeline. Love you friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alessandro!
ReplyDeleteI think we will forget the difficult loss, but remember that we can beat them! My only chance is to stay mentally relaxed, so that is my goal.
And thanks Kel. I knew you would understand how team-oriented players feel in this situation. Sometimes keeping a good attitude is freaking exhausting! But writing it down and blogging helps me sort things out sometimes :)