Scariolo: “We have to believe in ourselves”

Sergio Scariolo and Mario Hezonja addressed the media in the pre-final press conference for the Euroleague. The coach said: “We are very happy to be here but at the same time, we demand a lot from ourselves, and we will not stop preparing, fighting, and competing. Our opponent is probably the best and worst, depending on how you look at it, but at the same time, we are here for a reason, and we want to keep growing. We know Olympiacos will be a very tough opponent because of the team they have and where we are playing, but we are in good form and will play our cards until the end of the game.”

“Our ability to adapt to the new reality presented to us will have a decisive impact, the ability to know what we have to do, what might work, what we need to avoid, and what we need to exploit—a bit of versatility, flexibility, and the focus to grasp concepts quickly. We need the ability not to overload or think that we can do 25 different things in one day. We must believe in ourselves. If we didn’t have reasons to believe in ourselves while being in a Euroleague final, we should rethink it. We need to approach it with confidence and calmness. The competitive spirit is a given because I know my players, and it is immense. We don’t accept bad luck, we rebel against it, and we want to fight, compete, and never give up.”

Garuba’s condition and the team
“I’m not very optimistic about Garuba. It seems to be a bad injury, but we will evaluate it when we have complete information. We are in a good mental state, although we are also very sad about the injuries to our three teammates because they have worked very hard, and it’s a shame they can’t be in the most important game in Europe. But we don’t want to act like victims because it’s not in our DNA, our history, or this organization. We want to compete and try to play our cards, always respecting the opponent and the atmosphere. We need to focus on our opportunities and aim to be in that position.”

Season evaluation
“I am happy with how the season has gone, but the important thing is that the team has felt comfortable and believed in the values and parameters we think are essential to being a great team. We have to focus on our performance and ignore the noise. Obviously, we will be very happy if we win tomorrow, but if we lose, we will not consider ourselves losers because only one team wins, and we prepare for the next challenge. We need to step onto the court, be confident, and give one hundred percent. By doing so, we will have the chance to win.”

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.