Real Madrid’s total collapse, Scariolo on the defensive: "Ask the club if I’m staying"

Real Madrid’s resounding defeat in the quarterfinals of the Liga Endesa playoffs. Less than two weeks after losing in the Euroleague final, Sergio Scariolo’s team collapsed in the league, eliminated by Laguna Tenerife 107-95 in Game 3 of the quarterfinals. It’s a colossal failure: Real hadn’t gone out in the first round of the playoffs for 18 years, and more importantly, it remains trophyless for the first time since 2011.

After the match, amid booing from Real fans, coach Sergio Scariolo spoke directly about his future: “Am I staying? That’s not a question for me. I still have three years left on my contract, and this is a matter for the club. We apologize to the fans who have supported us throughout the year, who have always been there, always by our side, always cheering for us.”

“It is a moment when no one has the lucidity or calmness to draw definitive conclusions. That moment has to come with a lot of patience, with a great capacity for analysis, not focusing on results but on understanding basketball and the dynamics of teams,” are the words reported by Marca.

The season without titles: “Until the Final Four everything was going well, we dominated the regular season and reached the Euroleague final. The only flaw had been the defeat in the King’s Cup final. From then on it was a negative balance. We have to understand what we can improve, we were penalized by injuries of three players in the same role, but there are aspects that we have to analyze and improve, especially in the defensive phase. Our defensive efficiency in the last month has not been adequate.”