sergio scariolocoach of real madrid, He felt “happy” after winning Maccabi The team won 98-86 against Rapid Tel Aviv at Movistar Arena in a “trap match” played behind closed doors, solidifying their place in the playoffs with a record of 13 wins and 8 losses. The Italian coach highlighted his team’s excellent second half and defensive work to win the match, which featured no fans in the pavilion stands.

”By the end of the second quarter, the defense had regained its momentum, and the game was extended in the third quarter, allowing the game to finally settle down in the second half.. We played well offensively, shot well and had a good success rate. “In a month, we succeeded in increasing the pace of the game,” he said in a press conference.

“We know our limitations against a static defense, so if we can score more goals on the counter-attack, that’s good for us, even if we know it means conceding more goals. We have maintained our percentages and that suits us to some extent. We have effectively scored 100 points in recent weeks.” And I’m happy to be able to get through this trap match that created something unreal for us in the atmosphere” he continued.

In addition, scariolo He had words of praise for his player Walter from Cape Verde. VivaresAfter the game, Tavares, who became the best rebounder in Euroleague history, said, “Congratulations. He became the best rebounder in the Euroleagueyou deserve it. He’s a player who wants to play for the team to win and doesn’t care about his own points or anything personal. This is a very interesting demonstration of how to play in a big team. In that respect, He doesn’t ask for the ball too much and doesn’t complain if it doesn’t come to him.. “Aside from who he is as a player, that’s what I appreciate most about him on a personal level.”

Asked if the second half was one of Real Madrid’s best so far, Scariolo admitted it was one of their best, but added that he wanted to highlight the team’s huge progress since the start of the season in October.

”Very difficult to say whether we saw the best of Real Madrid in the third quarter. I think it was a very fulfilling 15 minutes. In the last minutes of the second half we were already able to move forward. Many athletes behave more confidently after a break. It’s something that requires a little bit of reasoning. Sure, we have a rotation policy where we want to have all the players involved, and it’s basically working, but sometimes the initial ejection of some players is worse than when they later return to play. It’s interesting, so I’ll analyze it,” he said.

”I’ve been doing this for years. Functioning teams grow, but never in a linear manner. It’s clear that in Madrid you have to score 10 points in each quarter every game to be considered good. Since October, losses have been decreasing in each month’s balance. “Basketball is difficult to analyze, so you have to stop at the results,” he continued.

In the end, the Italian player regretted the decision not to play with spectators, as it was disadvantageous “on a sporting level”, but celebrated the team’s victory despite this “hindrance”. On a sporting level, it is clear that this was a serious disadvantage not only to Barça and Valencia, but also to the team. At a political level, I have no ability to question this decision. Fortunately, we were able to overcome this obstacle in a relatively painless way, and we hope it won’t happen again in the future. ”he finished.