By Nikola Miloradovic / info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid faces its second Clásico in less than two weeks. After falling to Barça on January 4 in the ACB matchup, Sergio Scariolo’s side is eager to redeem itself in Round 22 of the EuroLeague — a game that is always special.
Having already beaten Barça at the Palau in the first half of the season, Real Madrid aims to keep accumulating wins in Europe to move past a spell of inconsistency. Their opponents, Xavi Pascual’s Barça, remain largely the same squad despite a full revamp of their team. The Italian coach spoke to the media ahead of the game.
One of the questions on everyone’s mind was Real Madrid’s future in NBA Europe versus staying in the EuroLeague. Scariolo addressed the issue from a medium- and long-term perspective.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought much about it. I understand there’s still room to coordinate efforts and avoid conflicts. For my part, I can say I’ve spent many years here covering the EuroLeague, but I’ve also had three fantastic years in the NBA, where I appreciated their approach. Anything that adds to basketball rather than takes away is positive,” the Real Madrid coach said.
Reports from Spanish media suggest that Real Madrid is leaning toward NBA Europe.
“This club has started a medium to long-term plan. This year we’re all focused on competing and performing well, but we’re already thinking about the seasons ahead. A long-term plan lasts at least three years and has to consider what is best in the medium and long term,” Scariolo explained the day before the Clásico.
He is a firm believer in long-term planning.
“The best ally of poor decisions is short-term thinking, focusing only on immediate results — for example, what might be best for February. On the court, we have to face challenges ourselves. But in the planning sessions, it’s clear that the focus is rightly set on the medium and long term. This is a club with 120 years of history and many more ahead. The key is to avoid short-term thinking, because it only leads to bad decisions,” Scariolo concluded.
Xavi Pascual ahead of Clasico: “If we want to win, we have to score”