In the past, I was disappointed when things didn’t work out right away,” he admitted.
Fernando Zurbriggen is in his third season with Monbus Obradoiro. The unexpected departure of Eric Washington made him rise up the ranks of point guards. Think of the new context naturally, as an opportunity to continue growing.
—Has your life changed in ten days?
—No, life is not like that. I feel that I have done a good job since the start of the season and now I have the opportunity to have more minutes on the field. The view remains the same. I don’t feel super pressured. The other day I went out very happy to play.
—But to enter as a relief is not the same as to enter as a helmsman from the beginning.
—Honestly, I have a lot of confidence in the daily work. Every time I go out on the field I have hope that I will do well. I still jump from the bench as a springboard, with a stronger role, and the other day I had to slow down, play more static. I have been in the club for three years. I know what the coaching staff wants, I know the way the team plays. For me, it’s just an opportunity to spend more time on the court and show that I can do it. On a mental, psychological or emotional level there is no change.
—Do you remember when you talked about running the basketball, instead of going out to find it? I think he made that move.
—Not only on the playground, but outside as well. I am a person who puts a lot of effort into it and, therefore, the margin of error on the court is reduced a lot, because I just let the game flow. I’m comfortable. But this is not the only end game.
—Meditation continues throughout time. Find the right pass. Against Girona he finished with nine assists.
—Yes, but I think the most important thing is that there were only two defeats, even if the last one …
—It was like saying, but what are you doing… and immediately, very well, very well… Never again, please.
—In my head is the game that won and looking for more points, thinking about average.
—Do you have time to think about anything?
-No. Not even when I missed three-pointers alone, when I made zero of five and shot 60%. I think this is a step forward that I have made. I used to get depressed when things didn’t work out right away. I think I found a strong emotional line. Even with the referees, I know their mistakes. I feel safer, it happened.
—Actually, you see him with more tenacity, not trying to win the game every game.
— That also comes with knowing that I will spend many minutes in the field. If you have to show in five minutes that you want to get space, the tendency is to push a little more. But I really let it flow. The nine assists, however, also have something to do with the man who scored them. They are good passes, but you have to score. For example, Tommy’s three-pointer in the corner, or when I go to the rim and the Three appears on a cut, which is not set up like that.
—Is there anything else to learn?
-Yes. With more minutes, I have to learn to manage my legs better. Twice I dropped under the rim and the ball eluded me, especially a very honest one. That was due to poor energy management, which led to me failing at the most basic of basics, executing a layup.
—He looks confident.
– Like that. But I also know that next time things won’t go well. In any case, the feelings are positive, with the conviction that if I make a mistake, I will correct it, as happened with the ball when Álvaro passed it to me a bit open, it escaped me, I recovered it and had an unsportsmanlike. foul. Three seconds, no time to regret. I insist that my life remains the same. I come to train in the same way, I do the same dunks in the afternoon, I play with my friends in the playground, I eat the same religious food… Everything is the same.
—Do you play the NBA game?
-No. Formula 1, and I’m Fernando Alonso, and Fortnite.
—Will this Obradoiro bite more?
—We have the so-called green license, with the power to break the plan and, if you feel like it, execute it. Sometimes the shot comes to you and you know you have to take it, because of the game plan. And sometimes you face the first transition pick and roll, and you feel like you can do it. I think this year we took that step.
—Saturday, Gran Canaria, which started strangely.
—They are coming off a good year and some players have changed, especially the interiors. I think they are very dangerous. They have many individual qualities. I’m very optimistic though, if memory serves, the first year we got over twenty points and last year we didn’t have it in the end. I have a thorn stuck in that track.
