Vidorreta challenges how Unicaja’s work is viewed in Málaga

“It seems I’ve forgotten basketball since I arrived in Málaga,” Txus Vidorreta said as he defended his record. The Unicaja coach spoke in a strongly defiant tone in the Martín Carpena press room on Friday. He believes his team’s results and style of play are not receiving due recognition, and did not conceal his frustration at how the club is viewed by the media and supporters.

To make his case, Vidorreta pointed to Unicaja’s win at Manresa by a 12-point margin. “How can I not defend my work after winning by 12 points on such a difficult court?” he asked. He feels the victory received less recognition than it deserved. According to Marca, Vidorreta also noted that it was the widest margin by a team in the regular season at that venue in nearly a decade. Unicaja also had to manage three absences in that win at Manresa.

The coach also recalled reaching the semi-finals three times in the competition’s last six years. “It seems it counts for nothing that I’ve reached the semi-finals three times in the last six years, because I supposedly forgot everything when I arrived in Málaga. It seems I know nothing about basketball,” he insisted. “I’m going to defend my record a little, because those are figures. I’ll talk only about figures,” he added.

His defence was not limited to his own career. Vidorreta also stood up for sporting director Juanma Rodríguez, while stressing that he was not targeting anyone in particular. “It’s a generalisation, it’s how things are perceived overall. Any message Juanma or I put out is no use,” he explained.

He also wanted to defend Unicaja’s way of playing. Speaking about the team’s basketball in Pardubice, Vidorreta praised its ball movement, passing and open shots, while noting how difficult it is to shine when a team makes only 10 of 35 attempts. Marca also attributes to him the view that the side is on a four-game winning run, defends and plays collectively. These examples underpin his challenge to what he considers an overly harsh assessment of the club’s work and his own career.