Sergio Scariolo shared his initial thoughts after Spain’s convincing win against Iran in the third round of Group G at the FIBA World Cup.
Italian strategist Sergio Scariolo highlighted that it was the first game in his rich career in which he didn’t call a timeout.
“First of all, I would like to wish a happy birthday to Victor Claver, and congratulations to Rudy Fernandez, who has become the player with the most appearances in our national jersey. Great people and great players who contribute to the team’s victory. I think this is the first game in my career where I haven’t called a timeout. I wanted my players to find solutions to tough situations on their own. We communicated, but I didn’t want to stop the game to address those issues” said Sergio Scariolo. He then reflected on the match itself:
“Defensively, this wasn’t a great game, while the 32 assists indicate a certain quality on offense. Our defense improved when Alberto Diaz was on the court, he had a significant impact on the changes in the game.”
Spain will face Canada and Latvia in the next stage of the competition.
“We are up against two very strong opponents with exceptional coaches. We need to defeat one of these two opponents to fulfill our goal and advance to the quarter-finals. It will certainly be challenging.”
At the end of the press conference, Scariolo praised the development of basketball in Iran, which, despite a decisive loss, appeared as a formidable opponent at times.
“Iran has proven itself to be a strong basketball nation. They compete well, have good players, play effective team basketball, and you see true athletes in their players who don’t allow you to relax. I want to congratulate Haddadi, he’s one of the most impressive players in global competitions. He passes well, shoots well, we’ve always appreciated him as a person. I truly have a lot of respect for him.” conclude Sergio Scariolo.