MADRID, 11 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The national basketball coach, Sergio Scariolo, confessed that Greece was another team this Thursday without Giannis Antetokounmpo, despite which he saw an “improvement” in his team to win (87-80) at the WiZink Center, with steps forward towards the Eurobasket.
“It has been a useful game. We have improved some of the things we had talked about. Greece without Giannis is a ground team, against which we can compete well, but well, I think we have improved, we have lost a few more balls of the count, but we rebounded well and that’s how we set the pace”, he said.
The Spanish coach did not hide the importance of the absence of the NBA, who was the executioner of his team on Tuesday in Athens, but wanted to highlight the points in which his young team improved and needs experience. “Good combinations of passes, looking for the open man. In general, with young players, they are useful games to grow, gain experience. It is the team of the windows, reinforced with 2 or 3 players who are entering the dynamic,” he said.
“There was one of the best players in the world, who only changes one game. We have had enough success, the energy has been good and the rebound has been the biggest difference. It has generated extra possessions that we have known how to take advantage of,” he added.
In addition, Scariolo referred to a Sergio Llull who did not play the first match of the preparation and his role together with Rudy Fernández. “Llull is always a player who can come off the bench and bring rhythm, aggressiveness. With him and Rudy you have to be careful, not overload them, dose them, use them with a lot of criteria, but they are a good duo to come off the bench bringing experience and plays that perhaps the others don’t dare,” he said.
The Italian coach did not dwell long on the good debut of Juan Núñez, who will be discussed more in the future, and valued Lorenzo Brown’s step forward. “He has taken a step forward. With good direction, good passes, he still has to learn to know his teammates well, but it has been a game in which he has grown”, he pointed out, before assessing the atmosphere in the Palace.
“We had a little pressure to correspond to so many people who had come to see Giannis play. At least they go home happy, having seen a good match for the national team, many young players do well, one makes his debut “, term.