Sergio Scariolo reveals the background of Toko Shengelia's arrival / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Giuseppe Cottini/Getty Images Credit Giuseppe Cottini/Getty Images

Virtus Bologna head coach Sergio Scariolo revealed some of the details that led to the arrival of Georgian forward Toko Shengelia in an interview with Twitch channel 'Area 52'.

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Shengelia was one of the two major moves made by Virtus Bologna before the deadline for Eurocup teams to add new players. The Italian side were able to add also Daniel Hackett, another former CSKA Moscow player, just like Shengelia.

Coach Scariolo, during the interview, explained that Hackett had also a role in the recruiting of Shengelia.

"When Daniel was still resolving his situation with CSKA," coach Scariolo said. "I asked him about Toko and I told him if he could call him. Of course, I also spoke with Toko multiple times before he came here but his situation was a little bit different from Daniel's".

Coach Scariolo has always been a great fan of the Georgian player and back in 2014 when Shengelia decided to return to Europe after his NBA experience, the coach was the one who pushed Baskonia to sign Shengelia.

"When Shengelia was still in the NBA, I really pushed to have him in Baskonia where I was the head coach at that time. It was a very long and difficult negotiation, but I thought that he was a great player and that he could have been a great addition to the team. Funny enough, when the negotiation was finalized, I left the club so we didn't have the chance to work together", coach Scariolo explained.

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