Sergio Scariolo plans to step down as Spain’s men’s basketball head coach after this summer’s EuroBasket, ending a run that included the last four Olympics.
Scariolo, a 64-year-old Italian, coached La Roja from 2009-12 and also since 2015 through the twilight of the nation’s golden generation.
With plays like brothers Pau and Marc Gasol, plus Ricky Rubio, he guided Spain to Olympic silver and bronze medals in 2012 and 2016 and the FIBA World Cup title in 2019, plus four European Championships.
In 2012, 2016 and 2021, Spain lost to the U.S. in the Olympic playoff rounds by an average margin of nine points.
Spain was eliminated in the group stage in Paris, its first Olympics without the retired Pau Gasol since the 2000 Sydney Games.
“My first words are to thank Sergio for all his commitment to the national team,” Spain basketball federation president Elisa Aguilar said in a press release, according to a translation. “Five golds, one silver, and two bronzes define Sergio’s role in these 15 years. He has known how to improve the performance of our players and has always shown a comprehensive vision of our sport, involved in player development, and has been a visionary. anticipating all the problems we could have.
“Although we still have time together, I want to thank you for creating that competitive capacity of our team. When he told me the final moment had arrived, it wasn’t good news, but I understood that he had earned the power to decide when to leave the national team’s bench. He is the best coach of all time, the one who has given us the most and best wins.”
Here’s where you can find all the latest signings, trades, rumors and reports all in one place, updated constantly.
Read the full article here