Imagine that the construction of your new house has reached the roof: just the last tiles are missing. And right at that stage a sudden whirlwind uncovers everything. Here, this is what happened at Unahotels where the tile rained on the heads of the entire environment, in the form of injury to Jamar Smith, charismatic and technical leader of Priftis’ troop, risks complicating the red and white objectives.
The US tightrope walker, due to his subluxated shoulder, will certainly miss the decisive playoff match against Napoli (Sunday at the PalaBigi at 6.15pm) and in all likelihood the away match in Sassari. The objective is for him to return to the ranks for the first match of the hoped-for post-season which, however, Reggio has not yet achieved. And now he will have to do it without his best element.
Smith, in fact, had not had an injury force her to stay in the pits since her college days. How are you experiencing this moment?
“I am very sorry; more than for the injury itself, for the moment in which it arrived, precisely in a period in which we are all fighting for the decisive phases of the season. But this is God’s plan, and it cannot be discusses”.
Were you afraid it was something more serious?
“Frankly, I just feel grateful and relieved that it didn’t turn out to be something much more serious; as it could have been.”
He was forced to stop at the most delicate moment of the season and Unahotels lost the man capable of being decisive in key moments; Even without his contribution, can Reggio beat Napoli and reach the playoffs?
“I believe so much in my teammates: these guys have worked hard all year and everything we achieved was together and certainly not individually. I will also be with them, albeit for a while from a different perspective. But I have faith in the coach and the boys: they will do well even without me.”
A united group is ready to sacrifice three times as much to compensate for the absence of a very strong companion. Can the Unahotels group do this?
“Absolutely yes. I won’t name names because I don’t want to put pressure on anyone, but in my mind I already know that there will be three teammates above all who are ready to take a further step forward. But I know that in general the boys are preparing for this moment since the start of the season and we are ready as a team to fight.”
Knowing his temperament he will certainly be itching to get back on the field. Do you think you can do it for the first play-off match?
“I don’t want to make tables, but I will do everything to get back on the court as quickly as possible. Everyone who knows me knows how much I love this game and I will work as hard as I can to overcome this injury.”
