FCBARCELONA.CAT

21.02.2010 21:58

Pascual: "Now we have to relish the victory”

Cristina Collado

The head coach of Regal Barça is determined not to be carried away by the success in the Kings’ Cup but at the same time he accepts that there’s some room for “relishing” their victory.

Regal Barça returned the very same night of the win to Barcelona knowing that they have a vital Euroleague game away to Panathinaikos in just four days’ time.

Under normal circumstances, Xavi Pascual would have clamped down on any premature celebrations but this Sunday’s success wasn’t just any old win. Barça Regal wiped Real Madrid off court in the Kings Cup final (80-61), and that is cause for celebration. He told us: “I need the players to relish what they have achieved. They have to have their space because they work very hard to achieve things like this. Now we have to relish this triumph and get straight down to preparing the game against Panathinaikos”.

An excellent Cup campaign

The winning margins against Cajasol and Valencia were smaller than might have been imagined but Pascual pointed out that nothing is certain in the Cup: “We had a good all round game and an excellent Cup campaign. You have to win Cup games on the basis of solidity. Our plan worked out really well today except at the beginning but after that we controlled the rebound and in attack we found their weaknesses”.