"It is a tragic time for Italy, and Spain is not far away" • "Should leave a horizon and hope for the league to return" As an assistant coach in Toronto, in an exclusive interview

• Scarario. Assistant coach decorated with NBC

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2019 was the heyday of Sergio Scarariolo's career. He led the Spanish national team to win the World Cup in China this summer, a few months after winning the Toronto Raptors as assistant coach at the historic NBC Championship.

But in light of the current situation, the great summer seems to the Italian coach a distant memory, and his head is much more important. His homeland and the second country closest to his heart, Spain, are two of the world's largest outbreaks of the Corona epidemic. "I am from Brescia and my wife from Madrid (past actress Blanca Ares Torres; SS). These are two of the world's infected cities with the virus, "he says sadly in an interview with" Israel Today. "

"It is a tragic time, and we are holding fingers that it will pass. I lost a friend in Italy who died of the disease and my friends' parents passed away. I am in contact with my mother and family in Italy every day. The situation is very difficult. Far from it. I come from northern Italy, which held the entire economy of the country, and it is unclear how Italy will recover from this blow the next day. "

After the difficult situation in both states, he stays out of Toronto, where he lives with his family and works from home for the Raptors, with the future of the NBA season in the fog. "We are very organized, each team member is responsible for several players, and we treat them to try to get them in the best position when we come back to practice," says the Italian, who also practices for a new routine in Canada. "Very quiet, almost everything is closed. We can go jogging outside. The situation is still reasonable for us in the city, but New York, which is the epicenter of the epidemic, is around the corner.

You were to lead Spain in the Tokyo Olympic Tournament. What did you feel once you learned that the games were being rejected?

"I was very relieved. You couldn't even think of holding an Olympics in this situation. The decision to postpone a year was the most correct."

And what about the NBA season, will she be back in action?

"That's a big question. There are loads of people and families who depend on the organization, in the league - so they shouldn't say, at least at this point, that the season is over. It's a huge undertaking and there should be a horizon and hope that the league will come back.

Next year in Tokyo?

Scarario sounds confident in the BBC's ability to manage the Corona crisis, but he has quite a bit of criticism of what happened in the world at the beginning of the epidemic. "Initially people had short-sightedness. There was no global solidarity. People from one country didn't really care when they saw what was happening in another country. Think that if they were okay, then everything was fine. But the reality was that they were all in the same boat to beat the disease. ".

We go on talking about basketball, and when I ask about the amazing summer he had, he immediately replies with a laugh: "From here I can only come down. I was blessed to work with great players and great people in great moments. These were two huge achievements, and what was more special, was that they happened In such a short space apart, I said to Mark Gasol (who also won the Double; AC) "We are so lucky."

You did not get off to a good start in the tournament in China, nor did you consider yourself a title candidate. How did you manage to win the championship?

"You have to take risks, and that's what we did. Sometimes you can fall big, but you have to see the goal of ideally reaching non-returnable games. So in the first phase, we split forces, shared more players and played in different bands, and it paid off in our decision moments."

The 59-year-old Scarario has recorded two great terms as a Spanish national coach. The first from 2009 to 2012 and the second from 2015. In his balance sheet: three European Championship wins, two world championships and two Olympic medals (silver and bronze). His contract was due to end after the Summer Olympics, and in light of the rejection, he was offered a contract extension until 2024. "I thank the Spanish Association for the offer, they are like a family to me," he explains. "If I go with the heart I go on, but need to Thinking about a lot of things like my family and what Toronto is about. That's not the time yet to decide. "

Are you happy with the Toronto season until the league stops?

"We couldn't have expected more. We started the season after losing two important players (Kwai Leonard and Danny Green; SS) and yet gave a great season (balance 18:46, third in the league). We are very pleased and if the league comes back we will be very competitive. "

How did you feel when Quay Leonard left after winning the championship?

"I was disappointed and also surprised. I thought he would stay. Beyond that, there was no player market at his level that we could bring in his place. I was very disappointed in the club. I came and told them: 'It's over, we have to keep going,' and that's what we're doing great."

The first to identify

Sergio's son, Alessandro Scarariolo, plays for Spain's youth team, which won the European Championships this summer, which leads us to Danny Abadia. "Alessandro and Danny Abadia are the same year and in the past they were together in two consecutive summer camps in Belgrade, year after year. My son told me: 'There is someone here who will be an NBC player.' Two years I told Alessandro that he was right. "

The Italian coach was happy to cooperate with the Israeli diamond in Toronto, but the prospect seems slim at the moment. "The Raptors executives asked me a while ago who is the biggest prospect expected from Europe. I told them Abadia. It's nice to see the development and his talent. Unfortunately, when it's our turn to pick Draft, Abadia won't be there any longer."