As Starlites prepare for their debut in the FIBA Europe Cup qualifiers, coach Paul Ferrante believes it will be a case of doing their job as best as they can on Tuesday after a short preseason.
Asked by Malta Basketball during a press conference on Tuesday about what the focus will be for his side now that the team is set up and ready for action, the Starlites coach said there are many factors which are new but if they ‘focus on the tangibles’, a good result is possible.
“Our focus will be always on the tangibles – putting these things together, the result may come. The reason I say this is because it is a first for us, even in the sense that we’ve never had five imports and in the local scene, we have to see how this will impact our team,” Ferrante said.
“We’ve had a taste of this in the Elite basketball preseason tournament when we played USA Select, but we have another week to improve. Our job will be to do the best we can on the day.”
Speaking about the team’s overall level of preparation, Ferrante believes many of his players are match-fit, while others will be better off the bench.
“Next week we’ll be one week more match fit than we were in the last,” he explained.
“Comparing budgets with the Anorthosis Famagusta, they’ve probably started training before us. We had a shorter preseason. The majority are match fit and we’ve got others who will give an important input but with less minutes.”
Team Dynamics
The Starlites coach made reference to team dynamics, lauding the way the players have come together so quickly.
This was echoed by new import signing Joe Davis, who said it was an honour to be playing with such a team.
“It’s an incredible experience and opportunity for myself,” the Canadian told Malta Basketball, “being here the last couple of days and really just getting to know the basketball community and the staff and the volunteers and everyone that’s involved with Starlites Basketball.
“You learn really quickly that it’s not about you at all and there’s much more going on here. These guys have put a lot of work in for a very long time and it just makes you realise that this experience is so much greater than yourself as an individual.
“I’m very lucky to be here. It’s a great honour to come here and play for these guys. It makes you want to work that much harder and do that much better as a team just to represent the Starlights in Malta.”
Speaking to Malta Basketball, co-captain Kurt Xuereb, who re-signed with the club earlier in September, said “Everyone stepped up to the challenge” as the team went through big changes over the summer.
“The dynamic is very different within the team due to us having five imports, so everyone is trying to settle in and get on the same page so that we can handle plays and other new things,” Xuereb said.
“However, the work we’ve done as a team shows that everyone stepped up to the challenge.
“We’re training early in the morning when obviously a lot of the players have work or school so it’s not easy but I believe we are in a good state. Training and the game are all of a high level which gives us a good basis to compete.”
Starlites will be playing a friendly game against Hibernians this weekend, facing what Ferrante said were the “the best other local team”
“They have a 7’2 guy plus two Americans so it will be of a high enough level for us to test our fitness in general,” Ferrante said.
