Turin –
These are the statement of coach Sergio Scariolo: “Very satisfied to have passed the quarterfinal, we were very worried and it showed in the first half, we had a lot of nervousness and pressure. In the first half Venice did very well, in rebounds, with the circulation of the ball, attacking well our moments of defensive aggressiveness on Granger. At halftime we just tried to calm things down a bit, and find that calmness that would allow us to be more relaxed on offense. That allowed us to be more physical defensively-I think at the beginning of the third quarter was really the moment of the leap in which we started playing with an almost Euroleague team-like flair, digging the 9-10 point break that we were then able to maintain. Beyond the offensive performance which was important, Shengelia attacked the iron, Milos made his assists, Belinelli scored his shots, Hackett managed the team well. I also liked how Jaiteh came into the game in the third quarter, in such a first half especially from the defensive point of view: he was decisive in my opinion, even if he scored only two points, because he curbed Watt well, as he had to do from the beginning. We managed to put 12 players in the competition, maybe with a little bit of risk sometimes, so that if we have to stretch or change the rotations, the players have already debuted in the competition so there can be no excuse for not being ready. Now let’s file quickly, because we have only taken that one step and now we have to take another very complicated one because no matter which team comes out of the next round, it will be very tough. We will have to catch up, especially because some older players have a season’s weight on their shoulders, playing the very tough Euroleague, which wears out and has already been long: obviously competitiveness and class will have to come out, so we hope to do that in two days. Some tension in the first half certainly affected our defense. Sometimes players need to make baskets with fluidity to find energy, especially for those who are more offensive: that’s where everyone can raise the defensive bar. As the level of competition grows, we have to try to do that from the beginning, because there will be tough games where we could win by 65 points without being ashamed to get our hands dirty. The moment the shots don’t go in we have to channel the game in another way where we think we can win it.
In the first half I was saying to myself let’s hope we finish down, because then when you complete the comeback you relax. At halftime they deserved to be ahead: definitely better to be down by 2 points than 8 because it’s a whole different thing, as the pressure and nerves could surface even more. I was satisfied with the way the team came back on the court without hysteria, forcing or individualism: we didn’t play anxiously but by circulating the ball well and we showed good defense.
Did yesterday’s defeat in Milan create thoughts? Not to me, I have seen many cups in different places and I know very well that winning a dry game, even if you are stronger, is always very difficult against teams that if they are here have earned it. Then when you play against a stronger, more titled team, the motivation to do better is greater and vice versa. Even us in the first half we felt this tension but you have to know how to live with it, otherwise you go and play a team with less ambition, where it’s definitely easier but maybe you don’t get paid the same. It depends on what challenge you want to face and one of them can also be to play with pressure on your shoulders.
Ojeleye and Lundberg? They are in a gray situation that honestly is quite a complication: they are not quite out and they are not quite in. The former has been out for a long time and if you put him in he risks relapses like in the first injury. Iffe still lacks confidence and feel for touch and shooting: we’ll see tomorrow, we’ll make a decision.”
