By Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid defeated Paris Basketball and Sergio Scariolo spoke about that game in the press conference room.
“It was a match that will have delighted the spectators, with two teams that clashed with speed, intensity, energy, and character, showcasing spectacular plays and great determination, along with significant effort. It’s a victory for a strong team against an opponent that played very well today, responding with tremendous energy, pace, and accuracy. The defense on Hifi worked, and we’re happy, but with a team of this quality and talent, other challenges have arisen”.
The Italian coach also wanted to give credit to the Real Madrid fans. “There was a really good turnout, and I think they enjoyed a good match. They saw their team fight and battle, never give up, and stay focused even when the scoreboard opened up a small gap. We knew that against a team that plays at this pace, we had to expect it and not get nervous. It’s important that, despite coming off a pretty tough match and so many games in a row, we found the energy at the end to run when we needed to, to defend, to fight, to dive for loose balls”.
Asked about if he prefers a high-scoring game -like today’s- or a more controlled one, Scariolo said that he doesn’t really have a say in how the games are played.
“Talking about preferences doesn’t make much sense. The rhythm is played and determined by the players. When you have that rhythm, you can’t play any other way. We have to find lineups that can change it when needed. I would like to highlight Trey Lyles and Gaby Deck coming off the bench.”
Scariolo was also asked about leaving Andrés Feliz out of the roster: “It was a technical decision. We have many players at that position, and I have to rotate due to factors that are not always evident from the outside. Clearly, I can’t play with four shooting guards at the same time. Also, we have the option of playing Facu and Theo together.”
And he also talked about a curiosity, since Scariolo was present at both the first point and the one-millionth point in EuroLeague history thanks to Theo Maledon, who scored that very special point. “I thank him for allowing me to be a witness of the first point and the one million. It means that we’re still making our presence felt there. Hopefully he’ll be watching many more games and many more victories.”
“Le doy las gracias a Theo Maledon porque me ha permitido ser testigo del punto número 1 y del número 1.000.000 de la Euroliga”
😅 Las palabras de un Scariolo que estuvo en ese Olympiacos vs Real Madrid del 2000 donde se anotó la primera canasta pic.twitter.com/Kk3vIynvo0
— Eurohoops España (@EurohoopsES) December 18, 2025