The captain of Barça, Alex Abrines (Palma, 1993), explains in an interview with Efe that this course He “has cost” to get used to his role in the team, Since he has had to focus more on defensive work and has arranged for fewer releases per meeting, something that has reduced his confidence in the shot.
“In a game you can get four shots only to the counterattack, and the next one may not have any. It is difficult to maintain confidence if you throw a lot one day and the next nothing. It costs to take rhythm of annotation when you are two or three games in which the ball does not arrive, or failures the only shot you throw “, Recognize the forward. Abrines, which records its lowest average of points per game and success in triples (4.9 and 34% in the Endesa League; 4.5 and 38% in the Euroleague) since its return from the NBA in 2019, says that it tries to “win that confidence in other aspects, such as defense and rebound” to have the necessary security and write down when the occasion comes.
Adaptation to a more defensive role
The eaves admits that his season, such as the team, has had “Many ups and downs”, And he regrets that the loss of Nico Laprovittola, a base that “helped him a lot in attack” and from which “he always took a couple of shots per game,” he has not benefited either. “Although that is not an excuse. I should have put more,” he says. However, Abrines argues that the Argentine's injury caused a domino effect on the squad: “It has cost me to get used to the role. With Lapro's decline, other more scorers, such as Pinter and Brizuela, have assumed their role. My function has changed a little, of being a shooter to a more defensive role, that I have been perfecting in recent years. “The Balearic, who defines himself as” a humble uncle who always tries to do his best for the team, “clarifies that he does not” matter “that he” demands to defend more “when Barça has players” with as many points in his hands as Brizuela, Pinter and Parker. “
The relationship with Peñarroya
The Barca captain explains that coach Joan Peñarroya suggests that “look for other ways to score” beyond triple. “It tells me that attack more the offensive rebound or some door back,” he says. And add: “I know he's trying to draw some shooter play for me, get a little more involved in attack. He knows that I am doing a good job in defense, but also that in attack I can give much more.” Abrines admits that “it has not been an easy season” for the coach, who in his opinion “has done a good job”, but prefers not to comment on whether it should continue the next course: “The work of choosing who is on the bench is not mine. My opinion should be for me. With which I am, I will go to the end. “ Also, when asked about the fact of having had three different technicians in three years, he acknowledges that “There is some stability, But in a club like Barça, if you don't win, the first to fall is the coach and then four or five players. “
Álex Abrines hopes to continue in Barça beyond 2026, the year in which his contract ends / EFE
He wants to play with Barça beyond 2026
After ten seasons as Barca, Abrines ends contract in 2026 and his intention is to extend it beyond that date –“I don't know what will happen, but I'm very comfortable here,” He says-, although he prefers to start the conversations with the club once this year ends. The eaves, who will turn 32 in August, says he lives “a moment of maturity” and, despite admitting that “he begins to be the withdrawal in the head,” he emphasizes that he is “physically well.”
And after ten courses in the Palau Blaugrana, it is clear which are the coaches that have most influenced him: “It is difficult to keep one, but by titles I would say Saras (Jasikevicius). With Xavi Pascual we also won some titles. They are the two trainers who have the most name, have demonstrated for many years that are in the Top-5 or Top-10 of Europe. The two stood out above all tactically, with slate plays and defensive systems. “
Álex Abrines scored 4 triples in the 98-72 victory against Lleida / Dani Barbeito | SPORT
An “atypical” course for injuries
The Mallorcan describes the “atypical” season for the multiple injuries that have diminished the performance of the team throughout the year, although it prefers not to put “excuses” to explain the elimination in the quarterfinals of the Euroleague at the hands of the Monaco after falling by a point (85-84) in the fifth and last game of the series. “We could not close the tie for a point and I personally tell it as a failure,” The Barca captain asserts, who adds that all the energy is now placed in the qualifiers for the Endesa League title. “We are Barça, we point to the highest. No matter the players that we are and what is happening in the team. The goal here is to always win, “recalls Abrines, who, however, emphasizes that it will not be easy because in the quarterfinals the opponent could be the Unicaja or Valencia Basket, which will also have the track factor in favor. For open ones, the charges of minutes of many players have increased due to the injuries, which, in their opinion, causes them to arrive “A little more touched” To this section of the season. “In the end, the few we are, if we have to play thirty minutes, we have to prepare,” he argues.
Any signing would have helped
Abrines has also been in contact throughout the course with the sports direction and the board, especially when the club recruited the Raúl Neto bases, which only played two rattites due to two muscle injuries, and Thomas Heurtel, an aborted operation for the rejection of the fans. “Raúl arrived (net) and did not go well. Then, with the options that were considered, everything that could go wrong, went wrong. When you see that they will not bring anyone else it is hard, because we would have helped us much any player who had come. But the reality is what is and they (the directive) will have their reasons for not having brought anyone else, “he remarks. And it is that the Barca captain has remembered that playing in Barça implies doing it without excuses:” It doesn't matter if we are seven or twelve players, since we can compete from you to you against any team. We simply have to give everything on the track. “
