Sergio Hernández: 'Being at another continental final seems commonplace, but it's not'

CORDOBA (FIBA AmeriCup 2017) - As talkative and as expressive as ever, Sergio Hernández, Argentine National Team coach, decisively took the microphone. Far from sharing a brief analysis on their victory in the Semi-Finals —as is customary in a post-game press conference— “el Oveja” took some breath and proceeded to talk for quite a while. He felt like this was a special moment. He didn’t want to talk about game tactics or particularities. He wanted to share a deeper message.

“Without Luis Scola in the court, we're in another continental Final. It might seem commonplace, but it's not. I want to skip my role and focus on this group of players: not only are they 11 young players —leaving Luis out—, but they are evidence of how well the development of Argentine basketball works in many aspects, and the great job done by the Argentine Confederation (CABB),” he pointed out in the beginning.

“Although there were indeed players that did a brilliant National League Tournament, we decided to search and develop talents for the next ten years of our National Team. That objective was fulfilled before we defeated Mexico: we achieved an identity and we kept the Golden Generation’s good values,” continued the Bahia Blanca native. “But we won. And we won well. And now we're in another continental Final against United States, who invented basketball,” he added with emotion.

“This is cause for celebration and for this day to be remembered for a long time. If not, we won't see the forest for the trees,” said Hernández to conclude the message he was already weaving since the game ended; a message that didn't fit in the expected phrases after a game.

Later, the Argentine coach commended Javier Saiz’s participation. The Cordoba-born player did an outstanding job of 19 points and 3 rebounds in front of the public that saw him grow since the junior divisions of the Hindú Club. “Javi has just played a game of a really high international level against rivals with great experience. Two weeks ago, there were people who didn't even know he existed. ‘Saiz? Who's that?’ they would say. That's why he should be very happy. He did more than what he’s supposed to do: he put his heart in the game,” concluded “el Oveja”.

FIBA