Scariolo: "It will be a perilous game against Anadolu Efes"
"We have to be prepared to play with a lot of patience at the back," said the coach.
Sergio Scariolo spoke to the media the day before the game against Anadolu Efes, corresponding to the 14th round of the Euroleague. The coach said, "It's a game with a whole host of dangers. The first is the quality and talent of the opponent. They have the ability to attack the basket from all over the court and perform excellently in the last seconds of possession. We have to be prepared to play with a lot of patience at the back and defend multiple actions to get to the end of possession in good positions."
"Also, the opponent has changed coaches, and in the first game, the reaction is always a lot of energy. And then, because the first game after the international break is strange because of the players coming back and the need to rest some of them... In fact, Andrés Feliz cannot travel after arriving this morning in Madrid, and others will have limited minutes. We have several fronts that we have to control."
The break
"We hope that this break won't have slowed us down. We came from eight wins out of ten, and now we have to start again. We're not starting from scratch because we'd pick up some positive momentum that we hope we won't take too long to get back, starting with tomorrow's game."
The rival
"I think they will recover some of their injured players, and at home they are always a very strong team. In the Euroleague, it is difficult to pick a game that is not difficult, but this one has many points to watch out for."
The most competitive Euroleague
"This Euroleague is more competitive than ever. In the last two years, the number of top-level teams has grown. That has an influence. Also, the number of games has increased. I think that was a mistake. Everyone is rethinking the format. It doesn't allow for the normal day-to-day work with the teams. We are far from the NBA mentality where you can lose four games in a row, and nothing happens. We don't have that sporting culture to understand that in this new scenario, we have to know how to value victories and defeats."
The importance of winning in Istanbul
"Like any other game, no more, no less. We played a great away game a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully we can consolidate that. It's important to maintain a high level of performance at home and to win away, especially on difficult courts."
Good run
"All good runs come to an end until they continue. At the moment it's over, but hopefully we can continue it. I don't see this game as a continuation because there has been a long break, we haven't trained together.... It's a one-off game. I see it more as a return to competition and a very delicate one. Let's hope we can open up another streak or extend the one we're on."