Real Madrid head coach Sergio Scariolo discussed the impact of the former NBA player on Panathinaikos, noting their dominance in the second half along with their elite guards.
After losing to Panathinaikos, they concluded the EuroLeague double-game week with a second defeat, having first lost at Movistar Arena, which gave them a 5-6 win-loss record.
Scariolo gave credit to Panathinaikos for showing competitiveness during the second half, where he saw Madrid play better, as it’s just too strong for them.
“They are a great team, incredibly good at the 1 and 2 positions. The first half was quite bad defensively; we allowed too many drives. In the second half, we played better, but the burden was too heavy to overcome a team like Panathinaikos,” the head coach said.
The Italian tactician congratulated Panathinaikos for the signing of Kenneth Faried, who dropped 16 points and eight rebounds, which also helped Panathinaikos to the winning column.
Aside from Faried, their opponent has elite guards such as Kendrick Nunn, who he noted did a good job stopping him, but Shorts and Sloukas gave Madrid a hard time.
“Unfortunately, we carried too heavy a backpack after the first half, and we couldn’t control their ball handlers. We did a more than acceptable job on Nunn, but Shorts and Sloukas were fantastic. They have three of the best scorers and excellent ball handlers. But in the second half, we did a great job, and it was the same players. We have to understand that against this kind of players and teams, we must be the ones to land the first blow,” he added.
The head coach believes that Real Madrid had to face these setbacks if they wanted to earn the championship, as this was the standard of competition in the EuroLeague at the time.
“Humbly, we have to compete in those positions against the best players in the competition. We need to show pride and not just in one-on-one situations, but as a team. We have to be self-critical. This is the pace of this competition, and we must understand that this will happen again. It is what it is, and we have to know how to respond.”
