Bologna –
These are the statements of coach Sergio Scariolo at the end of the game against Gevi Napoli Basket: “Personally and on behalf of the team, I want to apologize to the fans and society for a game that did not live up to what is expected of us. It cannot be said that the team did not give up but tried until the end in a bumpy manner, with little collective sense, realizing late that where to tighten the screws was on defense, being conditioned by the poor shooting accuracy which is a part of the game not the game. Successful personal initiatives can be good or bad, but you don’t win games.We are in a very low physical and mental situation, with the weight of a very hard season on us, and we have to be able to reset and finish well this piece of the season that separates us from the playoffs, recovering the sense of team, the sense of defense and the will to play together, taking care that the team makes a basket and not the individual individual. All these things, when you’re struggling, tired and stressed are the first things you lose because when one is cornered, one thinks of one’s own little garden first. I as a coach put myself there because I don’t do a good job of making the players think that we have to play, fight and think as a team, helping each other. The responsibility of failing to do that is mine first but everyone will have to have the responsibility to figure out how to help the team and not expect the team to always help him. As said bad game: nervousness, little energy, with pride to come back to the end collectively, not always in the most effective way. I’m sorry for the fans who came and for the ownership that is doing so much with plans and ambition so it should be encouraged with good performances: there are objective reasons for the general state of fatigue but we have to make it go away or mitigate it little by little.”
