Patricio Garino: the Olympian who was angry with basketball and now wants to recognize his best version again

By the end of 2019, life smiled at Patricio Garino. Enjoyed a nice gift to baskonia Spanish and the memory of great individual and collective performance with the Argentine team China World Cup, on which the silver medal was hung. But on November 22, during a Euroleague game with his team, he suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee, which, in retrospect, marked the beginning of two and a half years of suffering, during which he spent more time in rehab than in court. At the time, on his right leg he had a menisci problem that forced him to undergo surgery in October 2020, a hamstring injury in August 2021, at the Tokyo Games, and one in the thigh in January, whose rehabilitation took longer. longer than expected and led him to terminate his contract with Nanterre of France, where he came after the Olympic event, after having passed on Zalgiris Kaunas from Lithuania.

That bad streak was consuming his desire, his energy and his head and, after isolating himself from his last club, where he only played 8 games in the local league, he found himself that there is no motivation to start again. In against basketball, he traveled to Argentina to reunite with his family and friends, whom he hadn’t seen since the pandemic, and the weeks he spent in the country reminded him what the sport meant to him. With renewed vigor, he returned to Spain to face the deep rehabilitation of that leg that gave him so many headaches and now, after his 29th birthday, he dreams of wearing the light blue and white shirt again. … maybe in a moment. moon.

“Basketball has become my passion again, it’s me, I’ve rediscovered my love for the sport. Maybe lately I don’t want to be seen, I’m in denial, I don’t understand and I don’t want to. Understand it. And now I know I’m a basketball player player. And I’m what I’m thankful for there, ”he told Clarín from Madrid, a few days after returning to training on a court. “I was angry with the ball for almost a month. A month and a half without touching it. But when I came back I was surprised, because I was so quick to go back to what I was.”

Garino -who before coming to Baskonia played college basketball in the United States for George Washington University and had a brief stint in the NBA in 2017 (he made the preseason with the Spurs, but didn’t make it into the final squad, and then signed with the Magic, where he played just five games) – he doesn’t regret leaving Nanterre for to Focus 100% on your recovery.

“It’s a rare situation without a team and training alone in the middle of a season. But stopping and focusing on this foot that brings so much trouble is the right decision. Now I have peace of mind that there is no pressure. and there is no tight time to go back to competition. And that is reflected in the evolution I am experiencing physically. I know that if one is good in the head, everything is more tolerable “, he commented.

-More than physical recovery, how would you describe the past months emotionally?

They are a roller coaster. Sometimes, low, logical. Sometimes, of neutrality, of apathy. The others are angry. And some of the happiness, but very little associated with basketball. They didn’t come easy, at least until I got home. Because after leaving the French team, I went to Spain to undergo treatment and my idea was to go back to training in Argentina, but I realized I didn’t have much mental strength to go back to the courts. I really miss my family and friends that I haven’t seen since almost mid-2019. So I went there and spent almost 25 days enjoying myself, adjusted my head and took a break from training, something I had never done before. .at those times he was wounded. And then I went back to Madrid with my head focused on recovery.

What changed on that journey?

I rediscovered what I wanted. I was able to go see several games of some friends and there I remembered why I started playing basketball and where I came from and grew up. And seeing the atmosphere that existed in the battles in Argentina, the acceptance of the people and the love, gave me a lot of energy and more strength and peace of mind.

-Motivated ka …

Yes, because when I came to Madrid for treatment, the truth was, there was no motivation to play basketball. And he didn’t show up until I got home. That and the support of my family and Paula, my wife, who goes through it all with me, gave me the strength to focus on something other than the negative, which is the hardest.

-Have you thought about retirement at some point?

I would be lying if I said no. Sometimes it haunts me, especially in moments of downturn. But this is not a very strong or aggressive thought. I think I’ve felt it more in the past. Years ago, before the Crusader injury, I had a sprained knee and I had considered giving up everything, I want to go home, I was quite tired. (NdR: That was also right, in November 2018, he hadn’t played for almost two months and in the first game of his return, he had a right calf strain.). But now, in the experience of all these situations, with the help of the psychologist and the family, fortunately I was able to quickly get rid of that thought. Leaving basketball forever didn’t turn my head.

-What have you experienced in recent years with injuries, has it changed the way you think or approach the sport?

I found the sport to be a bit unfair and ungrateful. But at the same time I realize that I am not what I am without basketball, for all good and for all bad. Fortunately I didn’t have a moment of pure downfall, of devastation. Even though I felt different. When I was with the national team in Las Vegas or Tokyo, for example, I didn’t feel the usual Duck, joking, chatting, joking. I’m more serious, maybe there’s a little bit of pressure here. Sometimes I hate basketball, I don’t watch, I get angry that I can’t keep up. But now those feelings are pretty much fixed. I found my passion again.

The choice, the goal for this 2022

“The evolution has been very positive,” Garino said of the recovery process he is undergoing in Madrid. “I’ve been working out in the gym, specifically focused on the leg, for a month or so. And now I’m starting to do a little one-on-one basketball at a training center, with a physical trainer and an individual. technique coach. And the truth is, everyone is very good. ”

-How did you feel when you stepped on a court again?

I was surprised because it came suddenly. I had a solid and progressive work plan, but evolution was so good that we were able to speed up the times, and from one day to the next a little message came saying ‘Tomorrow you will play one on one’. The return was quite pleasant. More than that in the beginning, there is little nervousness or lack of confidence in making the wrong step. But when I gained confidence, I was full again. And at one point he became willing to win again and not think of his leg. I know I still have a long way to go, but it fills my body with joy and motivates me to keep fighting.

-What are the next steps?

Keep working. The goal is to get back into the race as soon as possible, clearly being careful not to accelerate badly. I want to prepare to land in the windows of choice, whether they call me or consider.

-Haven’t you ever thought of playing at a club again?

The truth is the rush to get back to a team at this stage of the playoffs, where you’re playing at 150 percent, I don’t think it’s beneficial for my body, my head or for any club. If the national team doesn’t happen this year, I intend to prepare for next season, give all the effort and desire to have a team again and compete without any physical problems.

The men’s team’s next commitments are the two qualifying windows for 2023 Philippines, Japan and Indonesia World Cup, where they will face Venezuela, on June 30, and Panama, on July 3. Those matches will close in the first round, after which the top three from each group will advance to the next round, which starts in August . The group led by Nestor Garcia running second in zone A.

Additionally, from Sept. 2 to 11, he will perform AmeriCup in Brasilia and Recife (Brazil), where they will join group B along with the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

“When I started training, the basketball level didn’t exist (laughs). But the pulse surprised me. And after various movements, I realized that the body had memory. Logically, I was lacking. of a lot of physique, strength and explosiveness, but I feel I am very capable.My plan is to be ready to play in mid-June, logically with the lack of filming, of playing 5 against 5, but totally available. outline in a work plan. I hope to be respectful “, said Garino.