CIV - Lezcano: We are still growing

ANTANANARIVO (Afrobasket) – Ivory Coast on Thursday swept aside Senegal, a team that had everyone talking following their defeat of pre-tournament favourites Angola.

With four teams still in with a chance of glory, it’s anyone’s to grab. That’s certainly the opinion of Ivory Coast head coach Natxo Lezcano, who has seen his team improve steadily since the beginning of the tournament.

But the Spaniard is refusing to get ahead of himself…

FIBA: Coach Lezcano, congratulations on a big win against Senegal. You showed a big heart with a big comeback against Rwanda and today with an impressive win against a top team…
Natxo Lezcano: We didn’t start well today as we didn’t start well against Rwanda, but all my players wanted to win and we played with aggressivity; with the head and with the heart at the same time. We did a really good job in three of the four quarters of the game.

FIBA: You arrived quite late, in July, did you have time to prepare the team as you would have liked to?
Lezcano: No, not really but it is what it is and we have to adapt. I knew we would grow during the competition. We didn’t prepare with all the players, some came straight into the competition, so they had to adapt to their team mates, my systems and my way of working really quickly. Hopefully we will grow for the next game as well. Obviously, we will not play as I would like to as it requires a lot of time but we are approaching it and the second, third and last quarters were a demonstration. They respected the rules of the game, the way we want to play and that is why we won.

FIBA: So maybe, one way of giving your team enough games to play the way you want them to is to qualify for the Olympics?
Lezcano: (Laughs.) The competition is very tough and we are not favourites to win this right now but anything can happen and for example Senegal beat Angola and now we beat them. Every game is different so every team can beat every team. We hope we win the next game and reach the final but we cannot think about the Olympics now. We have to focus on the next game.

FIBA: But you realise that one more win, the Semi-Final or - if you lose - the bronze medal game, keeps your route to the Olympics open through the Olympic Qualifying Tournament?
Lezcano: Yes, but as I’m telling you, it’s better to go little by little and only to think about the next game, not its price. If we do things properly and deserve it we will go to the Olympics or to the next stage of qualification.

FIBA: Ivory Coast is now a strong team in Africa. Do you feel the weight of expectation?
Lezcano: Yes I do. I have been told that they are showing the games on the TV. I hope they enjoy watching us and I hope that we deserve the support they are giving us.

FIBA: You are among four teams left fighting for gold. Which team do you see as favourites?
I think that now in this tournament there are no favourites. If you had asked me in the beginning I would probably have said Angola, but I know Tunisia have a very good team, they are strong in every position. Nigeria as well, but we saw them almost lose today, so it’s very open. I think any one of the eight teams in the quarter final could have made the final.

FIBA