The head coach of BC “Prometey” Ronen Ginzburg gave an interview to the site tribuna.com

A talk with the head coach of “Prometey” Ronen Gingburg before the start of the EuroCup playoffs had been planning under totally different circumstances. Ukrainian team, which is debuting in the second ranked Europe club tournament this year, has won its group having taken an advantage of the home arena in the playoffs matches up to and including the semi-finals and finished the regular season with 11 wins in a row.

Both the media and bookmakers considered the "titans" one of the main contenders for the trophy and a ticket to the Euroleague - moreover, thanks to a successful performance in the group, "Prometey" managed not to come across the other contenders (Spanish "Joventut", "Gran- Canaria" or Israeli "Hapoel" our team can meet only in the final).

However, the situation drastically changed during the last week. Two fundamental players for the team, guard Caleb Agada and forward DJ Kennedy, got serious injuries (the first one is going to be out for 4-6 weeks, another one – till the end of the season and is going to undergo the surgery) and “Prometey” experienced serious problems without them, even with Estonian “Viimsi” in the quarterfinal of the Latvian-Estonian league. The series stretched to the maximum possible three matches, and in the decisive match, the opponent of the "titans" even made a shot for the overall victory - but did not hit, leaving Ukrainian team in the game.

So the talk had to be refocused from the general “Prometey” achievements during the season to the current problems – the nature of Kennedy’s and Agada’s injuries; public criticism of Issuf Sanon and Illia Sydorov by the club's founder Volodymyr Dubinskyi; the personnel situation in the front line and the future prospects of the "titans" in both competitions without two very important performers for the team.

“When I saw that Agada also got injured, I thought it was kind of a bad dream. It cannot happen, can it?”

-Coach, did you expect the series against “Viimsi” to be so difficult?

-Almost all season long, we were playing without one or even several players of rotation. But losing, like this, two important basketball players at once is difficult for us, it is tough. I expected that it would be difficult, because it is already the moment of the season when there aren’t unimportant games left. Kennedy and Agada gave us a lot of important things - not only scoring, but helping in other ways. They were the heart of “Prometey”.

Their injuries demand us to improve as a team. Not one or two particular players have to compensate the absence of DJ and Caleb, but the team as a whole. I won’t be easy. Fairly saying, it’s a shame – “Prometey” had a good season, even an incredible one, but now, without these two players, we really must fight in each match, giving maximum and demonstrating everything we are capable of.

-Is there anything in common between these two injuries? Is it just bad luck for “Prometey” or general fatigue of the players could play its role?

-In case of Kennedy, it’s not, for sure. Just a bad luck. In case of Agada… In fact, the entire season we have been very careful about our players’ loading. With a rare exceptions, we tried to ensure that they don’t play too much, not to spend more than 29-30 minutes on the court. But everything is possible. We have been looking closely and monitoring this situation. However, probably, fatigue also played its role here. We still have to analyse this situation.

-How did you react to this news? What was your first thought when you heard that Kennedy would miss the rest of the season. That Agada cannot recover soon. In particular, considering the fact that the transfer narket in the tournaments, where “Prometey” participates, is already closed, and even if you had such a desire, you would not be able to replace the injured players with someone else?

-I always knew how important player for the team Kennedy was all season long. Yes, there were matches where he did not score many points, but he gave “Prometey” a lot even without high productivity or a big number of assists. When DJ got injured, I was very upset: I like him very much as a person and to get such injuries at his age (in the first match of the series against "Viimsi" the American injured his knee, falling on the court after a collision with an opponent - approx.) is not very pleasant. But almost the entire season we played matches without some of important players – Agada missed many matches, Kennedy or Clavell did not play in some of them. So when DJ got injured, I thought, okay, we have to get adapted, to adjust, someone has to take on a bigger role and help.

But when I saw that in the first half of the match against “Venice” Agada also got injured, I thought it’s kind of a bad dream. He was just walking to the free throw line, I saw that he was holding his leg and I thought - it can't happen again, can it? I just couldn't believe my eyes. Injuries are not just about the absence of one or two players on the court, it is a much bigger thing.

In the second quarter of the game against “Venice”, we were out of sorts a bit; however, refocused in the locker room and had a great second half. But I knew that absolutely different time is beginning for us. If these injuries had happened in the middle of the season, we would have had time. Well, I cannot sign other players, okay. But we could change our game style, adapt it for different sharing of the playing time between the players. But now, we just don’t have enough time for that. Now we will have almost no full-fledged practice - perhaps one or two a week, the rest of the time we have to play. We cannot change something drastically in such a short time. It is difficult and uunpleasantly.

- Let's be honest: unfortunately, the injuries of Kennedy and Agada are from the category of those that change the trajectory of the season for the entire team. Do you still believe that “Prometey” is capable of winning every match the team comes to the court? Do you believe that the team will be able to win the LEBL and go far in the EuroCup playoffs?

-Of course, I believe. Moreover, I believe that even the third game against “Viimsi” (“Prometey” won it with a score of 59:57 setting an anti-record of the season as for the scored points – auth.) gave us something good. The players were under a lot of pressure, coped with it and won. Yes, it was not great or spectacular, but we won. I think, we are able to win every match – we just need other players to believe in themselves more. Yes, Kennedy and Agada were very important for us, but we are having a great season and I still believe that we can continue it.

Yes, the match agaist “Hamburg” in the EuroCup 1/8 finals is going to be very important for us. On Friday and Saturday, we will play in the Final Four of the Latvian-Estonian League and we will not have too much time to recover and get ready for Tuesday. Our roster has become shorter now, so everything has become further more difficult. We will have to think carefully about what and how we will do. But I believe in the team, in the “Prometey” players, I know their level and their quality. Yes, some of the basketball players are not in the best shape right now, but there is still a week before the game against “Hamburg”, so I believe that they will back into their shape and everything will be fine.

“The entire Sanon’s season full of ups and downs. Sometimes he plays at the Euroleague level, but sometimes at the level of the second Ukrainian division”

-Really, “Prometey” schedule is not easy right now – three days to get ready for the LEBL Final Four and another two after that – for “Hamburg”. What will you first focus on during this preparation?

-Recovery is the most important thing so far. We played two matches within three days – it is a serious load. If these ones were the matches of the regular season, for sure we would not play them at full strength, but the title is at stake - yes, this is not the championship in Ukraine, but we are still determined to win, that's one hundred percent.

We have to play smart, we will think how to share the playing time. And we have to concentrate on confidence in our own strength. We also have to play better in defence – not like in the second confrontation with “Viimsi” (“Prometey” missed 107 points within 40 minutes of the regular time and two overtimes – more than in any other official match of the season- auth). In the third game, I already saw progress in this aspect. If we have self-confidence and defend well, everything will be fine. Yes, we have a really difficult time, three matches in five days and all of them are very important. But the game against “Hamburg” is more important.

-We all know that the founder of “Prometey” Volodymyr Dubynskyi can be very emotional after matches. After the third game against “Viimsi”, expressed his thoughts about the performance of Issuf Sanon and Illia Sydorov – he wrote the he expected more from them, he wanted to see more aggressive basketball from them. And what do you personally expect from Ukrainian guards?

- Regarding our president, yes, I know his character, and I would like to be ten more such presidents of basketball clubs in Ukraine. The same emotional ones, those who worry about the team. Yes, sometimes he can criticize someone, but on the other hand, when the team is playing well, he always tries to support and motivate the basketball players even more.

As for these particular players... I believe in Syd - last week, for example, he played a good EuroCup match against “Venice”. Yes, this is basketball - you can do much in one game, but not this much in the next one. But I hope he can help us win games, as he has done many times in the past. As for Issuf, he is a very talented guy, young, but he puts too much responsibility on himself and makes mistakes. He doesn't need that pressure. Our experience proves that when Sanon plays well, we have more chances to win any match.

His entire season is full of ups and downs. Sometimes he plays at the Euroleague level, but sometimes at the level of the second Ukrainian division. He needs to work on that and become a more consistent player. I really like Issuf as a player, he can be a great engine for the team, but sometimes he puts too much pressure on himself for no reason.

-Anyway, 31 wins in a row is a very serious achievement. After the last match of the EuroCup group stage, when “Prometey” defeated “Venice” and secured first place, you said that it would be nice to stop and enjoy this moment. What does this success mean to you personally? If someone had told you before the start of the season that you would win a group with “Joventut”, “Bursaspor” and a few other very good teams, would you have believed it?

- Of course not. It impossible to say that we had a completely new team - Ukrainian players mostly remained from the previous season, Kennedy and Stephens as well, but still - we had enough players who played at the top European level for the first time. But the team formed a very good chemistry, the basketball we played suited the boys, and we managed to surprise the whole Europe. There were a lot of those who were shocked by what was happening and what we did.

It became possible due to a great understanding between the players and the right system - we know where our strengths are and try to improve them, and we know where our weaknesses are and try to hide them. For example, we are among the Eurocup leaders in the number of offensive rebounds, in the number of steals, and we have almost the smallest number of turnovers on average per game. These are our top three strengths, but of course, there are some others.

But yes, I didn't expect that we were able to win the group. I was in hope that we would get one of the first eight places that would give us the right to play in the playoffs, and then, you know, anything may happen in just one game. We saw this in the previous season, when "Partizan" lost in the 1/8 finals, "Joventut" lost in the 1/8 finals - anything is possible with the current Eurocup formula. But we were moving from match to match, and sometimes, surprised even ourselves.

“The market of bigmen is very complex and specific in Europe. When you are searching for a player before the start of the season, it costs a fortune.”

- You started the Eurocup season not very confidently - after seven starting matches, you had three wins and four losses. And then, your winning streak began. Can you single out one specific moment that helped “Prometey” turn the tide of its season and win the group?

- In fact, I think that it is quite natural for a debutant team to start the EuroCup season with three wins and four losses. I didn't feel like we were doing badly - to be honest, I thought if we finished the regular season with a 50-60 percent win rate, that would be a great result. Especially, considering the fact that most part of the teams in our group are clubs that are bigger than us.

Key points? First, when we lost to “Brescia” by a big margin (70-104 in the second round of the regular season – auth.) in a match with a close first half - that's when the players really understood the level of competition in the EuroCup. Secondly, the road victory over "Venice" helped us a lot (75:71 in the final match of the first round – auth.). Before that, we lost two games in the finals – to “Ulm” in overtime and to “Bourg” by just a few points. And when we won on the road in Venice, with our fans coming to the game it was a great moment, thanks which players believed more in themselves, in the game style we use.

These two points were really very important. I cannot say they completely turned the course of our season, but they helped bring it to another level, that's for sure.

- During the season, Ondrej Balvin added a lot together with the team. In the autumn, he did not look so confident, but now he has become one of the key “Prometey” players. He makes offensive rebounds, scores, assists, and in general, does a lot of useful things on the court. You know him well from working together in the National team of the Czech Republic, so you know exactly in expense of what he was able to reach such a level.

- Yes, he plays well, but I'm sure he can be better. Indeed, he started the season slowly, but I always knew what he could give us and I am sure of him. His autumn problems were related to the fact that Balvin played in Japan the previous year, and we know very well that people go to Japan or China for money, not to improve their own level and start playing better basketball. That is why it took him some time to shake off the rust of the year spent in Japan.

For example, he had to lose weight, so we put him on a diet, thanks to which he lost 8-9 kilograms. I was patient with this story, because I knew his capabilities, and I understood that when he gets in good shape, he would again be the basketball player I worked with before.

Everything worked out for the best for both “Prometey” and Balvin himself - he became again the Balvin I know.

- But you are still looking for a player who could help him in the fifth position. During the season, you tried many different options - with James Dickey, Viacheslav Petrov, with light fives with Stephens or even Oleksandr Lypovyy in the center position. Why does “Prometey” fail to solve this problem? Perhaps Dickey wasn't quite the player you expected him to be?

- That’s not the case. When you form a team before the start of the season, it is very difficult to hit with all legionnaires without exception. I was relying on Dustin Hogue, but he arrived to “Prometey” after an injury and it didn't work out as I had hoped – in Greek “Promitheas”, where he moved to during the season, he looks even a little bit better. When I realized that not everything was working out, I started looking for another player, but the market of big players in Europe is very complex and specific.

Yes, Dickey wasn't the first player I picked, but he was the most interesting option available at the time. Even now, when James is sometimes playing well and sometimes not, a lot of teams are asking me to expel him because there aren't any big players on the market. So, sometimes you have to compromise. Dickey gave us some good moments, some good matches - indeed, he may not be the best, but that's the market. When you're looking for a big player before the start of the season, it costs a fortune. When it happens during the season - it becomes even more difficult. I can't say I'm unhappy with my choice, but of course James can play better.

- If we have already touched on the issue of the team formation, tell us how the fact that "Prometey" is a Ukrainian team, that cannot play at home because of the war, complicates this process? Does this issue become relevant during the negotiations with the legionnaires?

- In Riga, we actually feel like at home in Dnipro, except that we really miss our fans - the management of "Prometey" is doing everything possible to make us comfortable. Both players and coaches. But to be honest, I liked Dnipro better.

As for the impact of the war on the team, I'm from a country that has been at war many times (Ginsburg grew up, played and started coaching in Israel - auth.), I've seen two or even three wars in my life, so , unfortunately, I imagine what it is like. I follow the news, what is happening in Dnipro - either I watch the media myself, or I ask my assistant. When the big war started in Ukraine, I told the Ukrainian players that they could skip practice if they couldn't focus on basketball because of what was happening in their home country. But they are all professionals. Yes, this is not an easy situation, but in the context of purely basketball issues, we do not feel it. However, we miss the fans very much.

"We score almost 90 points on average per EuroCup game. When our ball fly - everything is great, if not - we know what to do and how to live with it"

- All throughout the season, except for a few matches in this 31-game winning streak, when the team was on fire and absolutely everything “flew”, “Prometey” had problems with long-range shooting. It could be 20% hits, it could even be 10%, like in the third game of the series against “Viimsi”. Why does this happen, as we all know that Gian Clavell is a great shooter, Denys Lukashov has a good long shot, Stephens, other players, and even Balvin can score from distance? Is it  kind of psychological moment?

- I may disagree with the names you mentioned, but it doesn't matter much in the context. As I said, we know where our strengths are and where we are weak. Our three-point shooting hasn't been very good for most of the season, that's for sure. When the ball is “flying”, no team can beat us, not even Euroleague teams. But if you look at our home preparations, at our combinations, we have a lot of open shots. There is no problem in creating those attempts - we have enough of them in every match.

We are the best team in the EuroCup in steals, we are great in rebounds, but for most of the season, we were the worst in making three-pointers and even free throws - and at the same time, we became the second most productive team in the group stage of the EuroCup. It says that we can score points even when we can't rely on long-range attempts, that we can deal with this problem. Yes, the percentages of accurate shots is not on a piece of cake for us, we have people who can hit, but they lack consistency. However, I will emphasize this again: we score almost 90 points on average per EuroCup game, when the ball is flying - everything is great, and when it is not - we know what to do and how to live with it.

-Yes, we have seen it many times during the season - "Prometey" can win matches where they does not look well, thanks to the fight in every episode, aggression, and dedication of the players. Is it possible to teach it or somehow work on it? Or, maybe this a result of the chemistry in the team’s locker room that you were talking about earlier?

- Both the players and the coaches, work a lot and systematically with videos. Sometimes we tell the basketball players about this, sometimes we don't, but we carefully analyse each player's actions in terms of how many and which steals we make, how many times we change trajectories of passes on defence or clear the ball, how we rebound. We analyse everything and the players know that - they know that this is our strength. If we make 10-12 steals and break 20-25 passes per game, nobody can beat us.

We talk about it a lot and work on it a lot - as I said, we want to improve the aspects of the game where we are really strong. The players know what they have to do, they know what percentage of our missed shots we want to turn into offensive rebounds - we're not driven by total rebounds, we're driven by percentage. No team meeting goes by without us watching these moments on video and talking about them.

If you ask me whether we succeed in all this 100% of the way I would like to see, I will say no - about 60-70 percent. But we are really working hard on it. If you carefully analyse the statistics of our matches in the EuroCup, you will notice that we usually have 6-7 more shot attempts than our opponent. Yes, sometimes we have problems with the accuracy of these attempts, but the more we have, the better our chances of winning. And now, I am not talking about outsiders, but about good teams with big budgets - such as "Joventut", "Bursaspor". We beat both of these teams, and we beat “Bursaspor” twice - not least because we had more attacks.

“Prometey” players know that this is an important part of our game, our identity, they understand what is required of them, and we will continue to do it. We'll see how well it will work.

- Which of all the victories in the EuroCup was the most important?

- The first, in a match with “Lietkabelis”, who played in the playoffs of the EuroCup last year (in the current competition, Lithuanians also became one of the positive surprises, taking fourth place in the group and having the advantage of the home arena in the 1/8 finals - auth.). The players realized that they can win in the EuroCup, began to believe in themselves, saw the fans who came to support us from Ukraine - all this was very important.

It was a really happy moment for me, and, I think, for the basketball players as well. Then, we showed for the first time that we belong to this level, although many of the “Prometey” players had never played at this level before, and not everyone had a self-confidence. Agada, for example, made his debut in the EuroCup in that match - I believe that we did not make a mistake with this player.

- In the second part of the season, "Prometey" got a lot of attention from the European media - you were called the main sensation of the EuroCup, the most progressive team and they admired your game in general. How did you react to all these stories? Have you ever had to tell the players in the locker room that it is not time to celebrate, that the work is not done, that all the most important matches are still ahead?

- Actually, I don't need to tell anyone about anything. The results speak for themselves. When you start winning - in one match, the second, the third - then you understand that you have a good team. And, of course, I don't need to remind anyone that our work has not done yet. Three weeks ago, we talked about it with the team, and we came to the point that we can go all the way - I mean qualification for the Euroleague. We realised that we are capable of this. Of course, what happened afterwards with the injuries of important players for us is a problem, but we all want to win. All "Prometey" players are professionals, they do not need to be reminded that we want to be the first and get to the Euroleague.

As for me personally, I don't follow what is written about us, whether good or bad. Statistics and digital analytics are important to me, but the players probably read. But, I will repeat - two or three weeks ago, before the game with "Venice", everyone in the team was sure that we would go all the way. And we still want to go that way. Yes, the situation has changed now, but as we have seen many times in previous matches, we can cope different difficulties. So we will see.

"I'll be a little disappointed if we don't manage to qualify for the Euroleague, but even now, with all our problems, we still have a chance."

- Do you know now anything about your future for the next season? Will everything depend on how "Prometey" finishes the current tournaments - the Latvian-Estonian League and the Eurocup? And what is known about the next season?

- I have a contract with the club for the next year, and as far as I know, our president wants to continue playing in the EuroCup. The only thing I don't know so far whether it will be in Latvia or some other country. Of course, I would like to turn back to Ukraine and play in Dnipro, but the war continues to be a problem. In general, it is good that we constantly remind that Ukrainian basketball still exists - both at the club level and at the level of the National team. It is good that the world can see it, and that it is seen in Ukraine as well. So, I think that if nothing serious happens, we will continue playing in Riga or in another city, and we will form the team for the next season.

The question is where exactly we will play - in the EuroCup or in the Euroleague. Because the team's budget, and everything in general, will depend on it.

- And one more question regarding your further career. Qualification for the 2023 World Cup is over, the Czech National team has finished this stage, and as far as I know, your contract with the local federation was supposed to expire after its completion. Do you plan to work with the Czech national team in the future, or is there no concrete decision yet?

- No, no, I informed the federation a long time ago that I will leave the Czech National team before this summer. In the summer I will have to rest a little. I worked with the Czech team for ten years, we had strong achievements during this time: from division B we reached sixth place at the World Cup, seventh at EuroBasket, were in the final part of the Olympic Games. Now I need to catch my breath, rest, and I will definitely not continue working with the Czech Republic in the next cycle.

- So in the near future you will be concentrating only on work at “Prometey”?

- In fact, I do not exclude the fact that I can lead some National team with great ambitions and good players. But yes, “Prometey” is my number one priority.

- I know that coaches don't like to make predictions about the performance of their teams, so in the end I will ask – how should the season end for "Prometey" in order for you to be completely satisfied with it?

- If you had asked me this question before the start of the season, I would have said that I would be satisfied if we managed to reach the EuroCup playoffs and the final of the Latvian-Estonian League. But now, you know that appetite comes during meals. In any case, I will be satisfied with what we have already done, but I still hope to go as far as possible in the EuroCup and be in the LEBL final. Maybe I'll be a little bit disappointed if we don't qualify for the Euroleague, but even now, with all our problems, there's still a chance to do it.

Yes, our basic tasks were the EuroCup playoffs and the final of the Latvian-Estonian League. However, we can still surprise everyone and make this season not just good, but really great.