Valencia Basket faces the Copa de la Reina with the utmost enthusiasm and with the aim of achieving the first title in this competition. This will be his sixth appearance and he has only made it to the final once. In addition, the title of champion grants you a ticket for the next Euroleague, which is one of the goals of the club this season.
Rubén Burgos attended to ACE before traveling to Zaragoza where they will play the first match against Estudiantes on Thursday afternoon. The coach was optimistic and excited to win the first Queen’s Cup.
How does the team get to the tournament?
“The team works very well every day. With enthusiasm and desire. We have to see the cup step by step. The first is Students”
Are they the favorites to win the title?
“We don’t have a Cup title. We are the team to beat this season because we came first in the league. The Cup is all uncertainty and that is why it is so beautiful. None of the eight teams have the favorites poster”
A week ago they were eliminated from the Euroleague…
“We have had an excellent Euroleague. We are very well mentally and with great enthusiasm. The good thing about this team is that they soon forget about the past and train every day to improve and think about the next game. Now we are focused on the Cup.”
The last two editions of the Cup were played at La Fonteta.
“We are going to miss our fans because here they are the sixth player. The fans will be safe in Zaragoza and we will feel their support. Let’s hope we’re up to it”
It seems that Perfumerías Avenida is no longer as fearsome as in previous seasons.
“Perfumeries has a spectacular roster. It continues to be a very difficult rival. He has stayed at the gates of Final Four. They are not slack at all. I hope we meet them because it would be in the final. He is a very tough opponent.”
His future in Valencia Basket…
“I arrived at the club at the age of 11 and I have been growing as a player and as a coach. I can only be grateful to Valencia Basket. I don’t lose sleep over my future. I believe that I must give back to the club what it has given me, which has been a lot. It’s a lifestyle and in my head, right now, there’s nothing else but helping the club in the position they think I’ll be fit for.”
Would you like to train at ACB?
“I did not have the objective of training the women’s and I accepted the challenge and I do not have the objective of training the boys. The men’s team is very well coached by Álex Mumbrú and I hope they continue to achieve success because we learn a lot from them”
What would it mean to win the Queen’s Cup?
“If we win the Cup we have a guaranteed place in the Euroleague. That’s why everything looks different. When planning next season’s squad it is easier if you know which competition you are going to play. In addition, you have already achieved one of the objectives of the season. Here we want to win everything and always. We haven’t won any league or Cup. Hopefully we can continue playing finals. Winning the Cup is two prizes, not just one”
Cristina Ouviña is one of the franchise players of this team. He has just come out of an injury and dreams of winning a title with Valencia Basket in his city, Zaragoza. The Valencia Basket point guard has just recovered from an injury that has kept him sidelined in recent weeks of competition.
How do they get to the Cup?
“We arrived with desire and enthusiasm”
Is there a favorite team?
“Never has a cup been seen so close to this one”
How is the team mentally?
“The good thing about this team, perhaps we are unconscious, we make a clean slate and everything is new. It was a stick because we lost a third game again. In sports you lose more than you win- Let’s hope we have a reward”.
First rival, Students…
“It’s a team that you have to be at 200% because if they can’t send you home”
How are you physically after your injury?
“I am eager, but physically it is costing me. It’s a time of the season when you don’t train and I need to train to be well. My trainings are the matches. It’s tough getting to the rhythm of the competition and even more so in a team that is super driven”