Coach Scariolo and Facu Campazzo shared positive messages after the game
Narrow loss in Belgrade highlights Real Madrid’s resolve
Artículo
3 Min lectura
Regular Season
Round 6 of 38
Regular Season
Maccabi Rapyd Tel AvivMTA
9291
Real MadridRMB
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Despite seeing his team fall narrowly to Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv 92-91 at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, on Wednesday night, Real Madrid head coach Sergio Scariolo’s post-game reflections underscored a mixture of pride, frustration, and resolve as his team battled fiercely but ultimately came up just short.
Early in the contest, Madrid had the game firmly under control, but a costly “disconnection” in the final 5 minutes of the second quarter allowed Maccabi to surge ahead and take the lead.
"We were controlling the game and we ended up, even for little mistakes, going to the locker room with a 9-point disadvantage,” Scariolo noted.
Despite that setback, Madrid mounted an impressive comeback in the second half, with every player contributing.
“Everybody, basically, all those 10 players who played in the second half were putting their stone to that great comeback,” the coach said with commendation. The game swung dramatically in the closing minutes, with Real Madrid having chances to seal the win.
After Facundo Campazzo put Madrid ahead with free throws with 25.7 seconds left, Lonnie Walker missed a jumper for Maccabi and Mario Hezonja, who paced Madrid with 24 points and 9 rebounds on the night, corraled the rebound. However, Hezonja wound up on the floor and his shoulder touched the endline, resulting in a violation and another chance for Maccabi.
Tamir Blatt, who, according to Sacriolo, Madrid’s defenders “should never” lose contact with, created the space for the game-winning shot. Scariolo explained, “We had the rebound in our hands, we lost it and then we made a mistake on the out of bounds... little details.”
Despite the defeat, Scariolo said that he sees clear signs of progress, stressing, “I think we are definitely getting better. But still not enough to win again on the road. Let's learn from mistakes. Let's build over the good things we have done and move on to the next game.”
Campazzo echoed his coach’s sentiments, highlighting the fluctuations in momentum throughout the game. “We had a lot of ups and downs...both teams had chances to win it,” the playmaker said, emphasizing that errors by Madrid played a part in the narrow loss. “We’ll keep working through these losses, staying more united than ever, and focusing on the next one.”
While there is a great tradition of continuity at Real Madrid, half of the 12 players who dressed for this game joined the team over the summer, as did Scariolo, though this is not his first stint with the club. Moreover, three more holdovers - Sergio Llull, Andres Feliz and Bruno Fernando - missed the game due to injury.
A two-time champion, Campazzo has had a slow start to the campaign as he adjusts to a new coach and many new teammates. This was his best individual performance of the season so far with 14 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting plus 5 assists. He made it clear that he feels Madrid is moving in the right direction.
Asked what the team must to do to get over the hump, Campazzo answered: “Keep building, keep believing in this process... It takes time. You have to be patient... We’ll take this feeling and use it as motivation to keep improving as a team.”
No team can be happy to lose a game like this one, but with leaders like Scariolo on the bench and Campazzo at the point, Real Madrid will make sure that the details that cost them dearly will serve as valuable lessons as the team continued to grow.
