Sergio Scariolo: With this atmosphere, you have to factor something in

Real Madrid fell short in the EuroLeague final against Olympiacos, but Sergio Scariolo defended his team’s performance. The Italian coach stressed his pride in a group that competed until the final possession and even had a three-point attempt to tie the game.

“I am very proud of the game we played, of how we prepared it and how we competed. The game was decided by small details, we missed a three-pointer to tie it,” Scariolo said. “We are sad because we came here to win and we were ahead for more time. But we leave with our heads held very high.”

On the officiating, Scariolo chose caution: “I don’t know, with this atmosphere you have to factor something in. It is better to review the game and wait a little before drawing a conclusion on that too.” He later added: “I don’t want to touch the refereeing topic. In these circumstances, you know you have to pay a small tax, whether small or big.”

The coach pointed to rebounding as one of the key factors: “The 16-rebound difference is huge, but even so we missed the three-pointer to tie it. We did many very good things to compensate for the tremendous physical deficit that existed.” On the team’s mental response, he said: “I made sure we didn’t drop our heads too much, because there is no reason to do so. The more you lower it, the longer it takes to lift it again.”