Scariolo compares Spain NT with Virtus, EuroLeague level before and after his NBA stint / News - Basketnews.com

Virtus Bologna head coach Sergio Scariolo doesn't think that the situation in the Italian club is similar to Spain's national team while highlighting that the physicality in EuroLeague is much bigger than before.

Credit: D. Lukšta Credit D. Lukšta

Virtus Bologna had control of the game for most of the time against Zalgiris, but in the end, the EuroCup champions had a difficult stretch and suffered the second defeat of the season.

After the game, Virtus head coach Sergio Scariolo named the reasons for his team's loss, admitting that the performance in the second half wasn't as good as in the first one.

"It was a really physical game, tough one," Scariolo began the post-game conference. "Congratulations to Zalgiris and their fans because they created a very warm atmosphere. I think we had a very good first half. We also had some flashes in the second one."

"We didn't have the right consistency and resilience throughout 40 minutes. The difference was made by 10 Zalgiris offensive rebounds in the second half and 10 free throws [that] we missed.

At the end of the day, we were up by 5 [points] with a couple of minutes to go, and then it became a 1-on-1 game where they made their drives and buckets. We had sloppy executions, and they were pretty effective with Brazdeikis and Evans drives," added the Italian coach.

Ignas Brazdeikis finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 18 PIR. However, 8 of those points came in the final stretch of the game, which was a game-changer for Zalgiris.

Scariolo explained what went wrong with the Zalgiris leader at the end of the game.

"It's true that we did a good job on him," said Scariolo. "Especially because we did more of teamwork around him. In the end, we lost vision on the cut, we gave away a driving angle too easily. At the very last one, we let him push our defensive player off. We were not strong enough on his drive. You have to give credit to him, he's a great player."

Virtus made their return to the EuroLeague after 14 years break. Asked what are the biggest growing pains for his team, adjusting to this level, Scariolo highlighted one key element.

"At the end of the day, it's basketball. It's nothing different from any other competition, but there's more physicality," Scariolo stressed. "For sure, the physicality is higher, that's a huge difference."

"We have many players who never played in the EuroLeague so far. They're playing their first games in EuroLeague. They have to adjust to this physicality. I think that's it.

We also have several new players, a couple of players coming off injuries. We had to put the whole thing together. I don't feel that we are really cohesive and solid team yet.

We are [solid team] for 20-25 minutes, but we have to get [to being it] for 40 minutes, at least having a good contribution from everyone who steps on the floor," Scariolo added in his detailed comment.

Just like Virtus, Scariolo also made his comeback to the EuroLeague. The last time the 61-year-old Italian had a job in EuroLeague was in 2013-14 when he was coaching Baskonia.

So, what changed in those 8 years?

"The physical level is raised. It's necessary to have deeper teams. The level of context is higher. Overall, it is much more of a contact game. This is why we have many low-scoring games.

It's more demanding from the physical point of view of the players. That's why we need to have deeper rosters. I'd say this is the main, not a change, but the evolution of European basketball in the last few years," Scariolo explained.

Virtus head coach mentioned the lack of EuroLeague experience for some of his players. The Italian tactician talked similarly before the EuroBasket with Spain's national team. We all know how it ended.

Does he see similarities between Virtus and Spain?

"No, I don't think [these teams are similar]. It's another situation," Scariolo explained. "I've been coaching Spain for many years, players have been growing together. They know the system, they know everything. I know them perfectly."

"In terms of system knowledge and togetherness, of course, we are much much more ahead with [Spain]. Because time is completely different. It's a second season with Virtus, and I think we had a great season last year, winning EuroCup. We also started this season [in] the right way by winning the Supercup.

Unfortunately, a couple of losses came. Against Monaco and tonight against a very good team like Zalgiris. It was a close game, both teams could have won it. We are moving to the next one," added Scariolo.

Scariolo was also asked about the officiating differences in EuroLeague and EuroBasket. In today's game, with 7 seconds left to play, Ignas Brazdeikis drew Alessandro Pajola's foul.

Zalgiris head coach Kazys Maksvytis used his coach challenge, hoping to get an unsportsmanlike foul call. However, the referees didn't change the decision and left the last chance for Virtus.

During the EuroBasket, in most of such cases, referees were calling unsportsmanlike fouls, crushing the last hopes of trailing teams.

However, Virtus head coach didn't want to compare such specific game elements.

"I understand your point, but if you want to make an evaluation about the officiating, you have to take the whole 40 minutes. In one possession game, every decision could have been a decisive one.

Of course, everybody leaves the game with this final decision in their eyes. There was an instant replay, so referees took their time to examine it. I think Pajola clearly went for the ball. I wouldn't judge any referees' decisions right after the game. You have to rewatch it and be cooler to evaluate referees' decisions," concluded Scariolo.

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