Sergio Scariolo, Spain star players find silver lining in World Cup elimination / News - Basketnews.com

After the loss to Canada, Sergio Scariolo referred to the positive side of things for Spain and praised two of his players. Alex Abrines touched on the team's main issue, while Willy Hernangomez and Santi Aldama appeared reassuring ahead of the future.

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Sergio Scariolo seemed to have mixed feelings during his last press conference in the Indonesia arena on Sunday night. On the one hand, Spain has just been eliminated from the World Cup, following their narrow (85-88) defeat by Canada. On the other hand, not having the chance to defend their title until the end wasn't the most important takeaway for Scariolo.

Player of the Game EFF 36 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Points 30 Accuracy 7-12 Rebounds 4 Assists 7

"I can't say I'm happy for Canada, but in a way, I am," Spain's play-caller said at the beginning of his statements. Having been a close friend and associate of Canada head coach, Jordi Fernandez, Scariolo is able to watch and evaluate the progress that his team's opponents have shown with the Spaniard on their bench.

"Now they have a high-level team and can enjoy the fruit of their efforts. We made an unbelievable effort -- we were better in field goals, rebounds, free throws, assists and AST/TO ratio," Scariolo went on to say.

"We made one hell of an effort. Floor leadership is crucial and we had to know that when an opponent is an All-Star player, things can happen," he said referring to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who took over in the end.

Scariolo praised Juan Nunez and Alberto Diaz, calling them "extremely fun-to-coach point guards who are learning a lot."

He also stressed the contribution of Santi Aldama, who has inarguably been Spain's best player in the World Cup, and Juan Nunez's debut in a big tournament.

"They have a great future ahead of them. We are proud to have played with a 19-year-old point guard," Scariolo mentioned Nunez again.

"He might be frustrated now because he has played his first tournament. Hat's off to Juan, but everyone has given what they had. The veterans have bitten off every last bit of dust. We played good basketball throughout the tournament," he argued.

"So, no regrets," he clarified. "Proportionally, from what we brought in terms of pot

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Spain / Schedule

Brazil Spain78-96 Iran Spain65-85 Spain Latvia69-74 Spain Canada85-88

ential compared to what we got, this is one of our best competitions, although we're obviously frustrated. But tonight we were Spain until the very end, a competitive team that made it difficult for Canada to win it. So, heads up and on to the next challenge," he argued.

Scariolo repeated that he was amazed at how Spain managed to fill "the obvious and big gap" that he thinks separates them from Canada thanks to a great game.

"We've had a lot of fun playing against a team full of NBA players. Their talent and experience are totally different than ours. When the ball is in the hands of great leaders like Shai, you can learn from these things."

Seated next to his coach, Willy Hernangomez said he's feeling "super proud" of his team.

"We fought all game and tried to match their physicality. But they played better and we must congratulate them. They're one of the favorites to win the tournament," he added.

The 2022 EuroBasket MVP called Spain "a new and young group."

"We keep the way we played, having fun and giving everything on the court. It will undoubtedly be the bread and butter of the future of our national team," Willy maintains.

On the other hand, Alex Abrines talked about Spain's main deficiencies. The lack of players who can score the ball was evident down the stretch, as Canada locked the Spaniards down and capitalized on some open looks and iso plays.

"Some players are not used to playing with the ball and creating for others," Abrines explained.

"Normally, I play at the '3' and I'm more of a finisher. In the last quarter, we didn't score for five minutes. We don't like to go out like that, without competing for medals, and more so with this team that year after year has competed for the highest goals and has won so many things," the guard-forward opined.

Santi Aldama also appeared satisfied with how Spain competed against Canada, despite the loss.

"Sport is tough and it hurts, but we have had the opportunity to win it," the Memphis Grizzlies big man uttered.

"The identity of Spain is to compete in these types of matches. We've done it. Above all, [Sergio] Llull, Rudy [Fernandez] and [Victor] Claver who have been in these situations spoke to us a lot. We have to be proud."

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