Scariolo warns of First Round danger for Spain at World Cup following Draw

BOLOGNA (Italy) - Spain coach Sergio Scariolo has put his national team players and fans on alert and warned that a difficult FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign is in front of the national team following Saturday's Draw in Manila.

Brazil, No. 13 in the FIBA World Ranking, are No. 1 Spain's highest-ranked opponent in Group G while Iran are No. 22 and Cote d'Ivoire No. 42.

But Scariolo said: "We have a lot of respect for our rivals in the [Group Phase] and it's key to try to win all games since you carry on results to a Second Round that would be even tougher.

Marcelinho had 11 points to lead Brazil past Spain at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics

"It's going to be a tough and deep tournament with eight games in 15 days."

Brazil have a history of beating Spain, too, in big tournaments. They won their battles against Spain at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics in London and Rio, respectively, although Spain did defeat the Brazilians at the 2014 World Cup in Granada.

Scariolo said: "We know very well Brazil with players such as Raul Neto and those who play in Spain like Vítor Benite, Marcelinho (Huertas), Leo Meindl, Rafa Hettsheimeir, Bruno Caboclo, who is playing at Ulm with Juan Nunez, Felicio…"

Iran gave Spain a run for their money at the 2019 World Cup in China. That game was knotted at 65-65 with 1:49 remaining before Spain recorded a 73-65 victory.

"We remember how tough it was to beat Iran in the past World Cup," Scariolo said, "and Cote d'Ivoire is much more than athleticism and great physical condition."

The crossover to the Second Round will be extremely difficult as well. Canada, France, Latvia and Lebanon will battle for the top two spots in Group H to earn the right to advance to face the top two teams from Spain's group.

Scariolo said: "The Second Round will be tougher with three teams candidates for the medals - Latvia, Canada and France, who you could argue for hours which one has the most talent after USA.

WE HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR OUR RIVALS IN THE FIRST ROUND AND IT'S KEY TO TRY TO WIN ALL GAMES.

"We don't fool ourselves and we're not arrogant to think that we're the best team in the world," Scariolo said, referring to Spain's No. 1 spot in the FIBA World Ranking.

"There are teams more talented and with better physical (traits), but yes, we managed to be the best in the past World Cup thanks to perseverance, hard work and continuity. And we managed to repeat at the EuroBasket."

Current France stars Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier helped Les Bleus upset Spain in the 2014 World Cup Quarter-Finals

Scariolo will now not only be assessing the challenges of his World Cup opponents but also considering the makeup of his squad.

In an interview before the draw, he made it clear that Lorenzo Brown, Spain's playmaker who made the All-Star Five at EuroBasket 2022 in his debut, will be with the team at the World Cup.

"Yes," Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said to Tuttosport.

"He was so happy to play with us and can't stop thanking us for the opportunity. We should thank him, especially for his attitude. Playing with the national team is so special, even for someone who played in the NBA, even if he's not born in the country he's playing for.

 Brown embraced the opportunity to play for Spain and was vital as the country won EuroBasket 2022

"Representing this country is so emotional because I know how much work is behind all of this."

Scariolo relishes the chance to coach Spain.

"What makes me even happier is that people just thank me," he said. "I feel that this is not only about winning medals and trophies, you just give something special to those people that are going to work every morning in a factory or at the office. This is not rhetoric, this is what they say."

Scariolo took over Spain's national team in 2009 and guided it to the country's first EuroBasket crown, in Poland.

After defending that title in 2011 in Lithuania, he held the reins as Spain made it to the Olympic Gold Medal Game in London, where the USA scraped a 107-100 victory against them.

Following a two-year hiatus, Scariolo returned to lead the team in 2015 and coached them to the country's third EuroBasket championship, in Lille.

After a Bronze Medal Game win over Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and a Third-Place Game triumph over Russia at EuroBasket 2017 in Istanbul, Scariolo engineered a famous run to the title at the 2019 World Cup in China.

Even with a host of new faces like Brown, and with EuroBasket 2022 MVP Willy Hernangomez and his brother, Juancho, taking on leadership roles in the team, Spain prevailed against a star-studded field in Germany and then assumed the No. 1 spot in the FIBA World Ranking over No. 2 USA.

"It's funny to look at us as No. 1 in the world, as the world and European champions, because we know very well that we're not the best on paper, not in the world, not even in Europe," Scariolo said.

"We deserve to have this because of our process, because of how we showed up against stronger rosters, playing very good basketball.

Spain's dedication to playing as a team at EuroBasket 2022 made the sum greater than the whole of its parts

"It's obvious that we are experiencing a generational transition. We need to lead the new youngsters from 2005-06, who are very interesting.

"We are in the middle of this process, now. We give exposure and playing time to new players and this gives us more confidence and courage, but I still believe there are three to four teams better than ours in Europe."

Yet Spain's tried and tested way of getting players ready for the national team is remarkable. Hardly anyone was picking them to win the EuroBasket because of the generational switch, yet they did.

Why can't other countries adopt the same method, or at least take a similar approach to Spain's, when it comes to getting young players ready for the national team?

"I can't answer this question because I don't know the other situations in detail," Scariolo said. "I can tell you what we say to people that immediately tell us 'we can’t do this', a long road is made of small steps, and the first is the most important."

"I can give you an example of the comics I read as a kid: Scrooge McDuck was making Donald Duck clean all of his coins, then he rewarded him with a dollar that Donald Duck was trashing every time. Then, Scrooge McDuck reminded him that his fortune started from one cent."

Spain's process of getting players ready for the national team is sound, as was proved last summer when so many less celebrated combatants had key roles.

"Those players are coming off a long work we started eight years ago, to develop players with common values, a true sense of community, an established working system - technical and tactical - starting from the youth teams," he said.

"This allows them to enter the senior team at a higher level with more ease, keep on working in the same way they did for years. The capability to transform the individual value into a collective value is where this is starting from and what this is all about."

Spanish Basketball Federation President Jorge Garbajosa carried the Naismith Trophy won in 2019 at Saturday's Draw

Scariolo is geared up for the World Cup. Spain play in Jakarta in the First Round and have every expectation of advancing to the Final Round in the Philippines.

"I expect a fantastic atmosphere in the Philippines," he said. "I participated in the Olympics and the World Cup in Asia and it's been fantastic."

FIBA