Scariolo risks it against Antetokounmpo in the Eurobasket: Life or death for Spain

The Spanish National Basketball Team is facing a critical moment in Eurobasket 2025. This Thursday, they will face Greece at the Spyros Kyprianou Arena in Limassol in a match that could determine the immediate future of the team and Sergio Scariolo as the national team head coach. The outcome will depend on the earlier result between Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: if the Balkans win, Spain will be required to defeat the Greeks to advance to the knockout stage; otherwise, they would be eliminated.

After a light training session on the Cypriot court, Scariolo analyzed the upcoming challenge with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the horizon in statements collected by Marca: "A highly demanding match against the strongest team in the group. They have a world-class superstar and Sloukas, a highly experienced European superstar. A great team, and we need to play a great game to compete against them."

The coach acknowledged that the defeat against Italy still weighs heavily both physically and emotionally. "The team is a bit shaken because physically it's starting to show, and emotionally because if we had grabbed that rebound from Spissu, we would have won the game, and that hurts because we were close. We need all the energy."

Regarding the match against the Italians, Scariolo emphasized that there were positive aspects despite the outcome: "We did many things well for many minutes of the game and missed free throws and open shots. We lacked accuracy even though we created good shots. That reflects the quality of the offense. Then we failed in the paint and from beyond the arc. There are many things for the young players. Larry had a great game, but in that crucial rebound, he needed to be there with his opponent. He is taking huge steps toward becoming an international high-level player. This morning we reviewed mostly positive images. How we defended in the first 15-16 minutes, there are few teams that can do that. Then there are shortcomings that cannot be corrected, and we have to live with them and do other things well."

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Looking ahead to the challenge of stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo, Scariolo warned that Greece has changed since the last encounter between the two teams: "Last year's match means very little. We were able to tactically manipulate the game quite a bit because Greece's perimeter structure was different. This year, they have an impressive array, Dorsey, Sloukas, and Toliopoulos who have tremendous confidence. We can't solely focus on Giannis, or they can tailor us from beyond the arc. Balance."

Regardless of the Georgia-Bosnia result, the Italian coach wants his players to view the match against Greece as a learning opportunity: "Every game starts from zero, and we will see if it's definitive or not. It's a very useful match for the players' growth because playing against a team of this caliber forces you to mature."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Scariolo se la juega ante Antetokounmpo en el Eurobasket: Vida o muerte para España