American full-back Gerry Blakes will play his first official match with Limoges CSP this Friday evening on the floor of Orléans. After having shone during the preparation, he will finally be able to bring his stone to the Limougeaud edifice. A still fragile building. This is why the coach did not want to reinstate him too quickly and decided not to use him last Saturday against Gravelines. This time, it’s sure, Gerry Blakes will be well on the scoresheet in Orleans. A talented rear on which Massimo Cancellieri is full of praise even if the Limoges coach only needs two words to define him: “incredible, unpredictable“.
He will bring us things that we don’t have too much – Hugo Invernizzi
Gerry Blakes is a southpaw capable of making his own shot. A profile that is necessarily interesting in the eyes of his partner Hugo Invernizzi: “he will bring us things that we do not have too much. An ability to play 1 against 1, to create his own shoot, to provoke a lot and make big differences in 1 against 1. What we do not necessarily have for the moment in the team. It is clear that it will be interesting.“That’s why Gerry Blakes just has to stay himself, explains Massimo Cancellieri:”I hope he will be the player he was before the injury. He did it very well. Not right away but in the future“.
Another very big scorer with Nicolas Lang
For Massimo Cancellieri, Gerry Blakes can become another very important threat with Captain Nicolas Lang : “we know that Nico will be the best scorer because we give him the ball a lot. And everyone knows after 10 games that he’s one of our big players and that he can score. But Gerry can be the other scorer. They are two different players but they are they play well, together we are a good team“As for the main person concerned, he is obviously very happy to finally be able to return to competition after long weeks of absence due to a knee injury.
Trying to Help, Any Way You Do It – Gerry Blakes
“I’m excited. It’s been a long time for me. But I’ve played basketball my whole life. It is not the hardest thing to do. Build with the team and try to reach them the right way. This is the most important for me. Trying to help, however you choose to do it. I think we have a good team. Good organization. We work really hard together and do it right. There is good chemistry. We must keep moving forward, stay positive and work“explains the one who was the best scorer of Limoges CSP during the pre-season. But without him, the team has progressed. Some cards have been redistributed.
Invernizzi not worried about the integration of Gerry Blakes
Gerry Blakes is going to have to adapt even if integrating it will really not be a problem to hear Hugo Invernizzi: “it’s as if you were asking me if it’s hard to reinstate Nico when he comes back from 10 days with the France team. It’s not hard to integrate Nico because he is very important for us and he is an ultra major player. Now, we’ve been playing without Gerry for a while. It is above all he who will have to adapt to how we play, quite simply. Of course, we’re going to adapt things but we’re not going to change everything because Gerry is coming back. When every player comes back, you always have to find a balance between 1 on 1, team play and find yourself well.“.