Interview with Quim Costa

"In many moments, we enjoyed playing basketball"

| Thursday, 17 May 2018

Quim Costa (Badalona, ​​1957) arrived last summer at Básquet Girona to take charge of the senior team. The coach, with a long career at the highest level, explains his feelings in the first season at the club, in which the Girona side finished in third place in the EBA CA group.  

-How do you rate the season?

“Overall, very positive, both in terms of results and play. As the months have passed, we’ve gotten closer to the basketball idea I had in my head, with a lot of rhythm and defensive intensity. Maybe not 100 %, but at some stage we came very close, especially in Fontajau, where we felt comfortable, safe. Outside, the performance was different and cost us more. There, we suffered the hardest defeats.”

-How did you find yourself in Basketball Girona?

“Very well, the truth. Within the club, I have found a very good working group, which has acted calmly and thoughtfully in difficult moments or when they were not so positive. Then, at the level of the coaching staff, there from the first day there has been harmony between all of us and a good ability to work, which is the spirit we have tried to spread to the team. Without this or effort, it is very difficult to achieve the objectives.”

-The eleven players in the squad have logged between 11 and 25 minutes on average. They have all contributed.  

“We made a new team, with players from different backgrounds and basketball ideas, and most of them were surprised by the style I had in mind. Nowadays, basketball is all dependent on scouting and we didn’t do it. Our approach was not what the opponent was doing, but that the team would grow. And that surprised the players. But I insisted that scouting was not the most important thing now. First they had to expand their basketball base, technical knowledge, individual technique, good defensive positions, how to play a 2×1 on the counterattack,… Once this is assimilated, scouting enters the scene. Basing growth on  scouting is self-deception. It gives you immediate performance, but it doesn’t grow the player, which is what we prioritize. In general, the players have tried and some more and others less have grasped this idea. And, in many moments, we enjoyed playing basketball.”

-Pau Casademont and the juniors Eduard Ramos and Guillem Cuadrado have made their EBA debut this year.

“We must continue to try to ensure that the players trained at the base can make the jump, but not in a timely manner, but steadily. It is the challenge we have as a club. This does not mean giving anything away. Whoever goes up must do so accompanied by the talent and the necessary effort. Otherwise, it would be counterproductive. We have to work in this direction.”

-The results at home have been magnificent. 

“I liked to see players from the grassroots teams there often supporting us, when they were able to come. This is very positive. Looking ahead to the next few years, we have to try to have more regularity and security away from home, not only in Fontajau. I’m sure this will also allow us to connect more with the public and engage more people.”