22.08.2007, 12:49
Portland on the Right Track

Portland won their second test game against Arrate. Coach Javier Cabanas was satisfied with the game and with the experiements.

Portland on the Right Track

Portland have the second victory in this pre-season. The Cabanas team defeated Asobal League team, Arrate, in the Basque town of Tolosa. The final result was 32:24.

Valter Matosevic played his first minutes with his new team and showed a really good performance. Croatian goalkeeper saved 15 balls in 45 minutes, helping his defense to make a good game. Portland won easily against Arrate though Vugrinec and Andorinho picked up injuries and were not able to play.

Javier Cabanas started with 5-1 defence and the results were good. Balic and Ruesga played in the advanced position – two players who were not defending in the past. This was a friendly, however, so we must wait to see the important games to know if these solutions could be implemented or not.

Another objective of this style is to reduce the number of changes between attack and defense. It is sure that Cabanas will not forget about the strong 6-0 defence that brought so many victories for San Antonio in the past.

Positive signs

Portland are getting better in attack too. Malmagro scored 5 goals easily in the first half, and the wingers shot more effectively than in the first match against CAI Aragon. Balic and Ruesga took control of the game in the second half, scoring and giving good assists for the line player. Ratko Nikolic was effective as well: he scored 4 goals.

The good performance of Matosevic was completed by Svensson, who played less than usually. However, the Swedish goalkeeper saved five balls that were followed by fast breaks that Ortigosa, Fernando Hernandez and Carvajal converted to make the difference bigger between the teams. The final score was 32:24.

Javier Cabanas was happy at the end of the match:

“The defence is getting better but we must still improve in so many things. We made some defensive experiments and I’m satisfied. However, there is a long way to reach our best level.”

Cabanas had positive remarks on Matosevic as well: “He is better than I expected. He played the entire first half and ten minutes more. He was tired at the end.”

TEXT: Fernando Urra Goñi