Sergio Scariolo gives his last list as coach before leaving for Real Madrid

Sergio Scariolo has announced that he will not continue as the national basketball coach beyond the next Eurobasket, which foreshadows, although he has not wanted to say so, his future as Real Madrid's new coach for the coming season.

The Italian coach announced his decision at the presentation of the Spanish national team's squad for Eurobasket 2025, an event held at the Iberia headquarters in Madrid, where he was accompanied by the president of the Spanish Federation, Elisa Aguilar. There, the Brescia native announced that the Eurobasket will be "the last competitive moment" he will be with the team.

"The decision was made two days ago," Scariolo said. "Everything happened extremely quickly and almost convulsively. But the Federation was present in the reality surrounding my future, without being concerned about the rumors and nonsense that were circulating. I came to the conclusion on Monday night. It was quick because you have to respect all parties."

Everything points to Scariolo taking over at Real Madrid as soon as the Eurobasket is over. The Whites decided yesterday to dismiss Chus Mateo and are counting on the Italian for their new project. "I want to continue doing my job to the best of my ability until the very end. If I have to combine it with a club in a short time, I've done worse things," he stated, faced with the challenge of balancing Eurobasket preparations with starting a new project with Real Madrid.

Beyond that news, Scariolo spoke about the 15 players selected to prepare for the Eurobasket, a list that will be reduced by three when the final roster is announced. It includes NBA star Santi Aldama, as well as youngsters Eli John Ndiaye and Sergio de Larrea. However, Usman Garuba, "for physical and personal reasons," and Hugo González, who just signed his contract to play in the NBA with the Boston Celtics, are not included.

Scariolo pointed out the difficulty of making the squad in a summer marked by competitive demands and the physical condition of several key players. "The rankings will put them far from the medal contention, but that has never conditioned us in any way. We will try to build a competitive version of our team. We are not under pressure to achieve a result, but this team has the DNA of always competing," he assured the media.

The Italian coach, who has won four Eurobaskets, one World Cup, and two Olympic medals with Spain, will close out a historic cycle in the coming months with one last major event before turning the page.

The Spanish national team will gather on July 28th to begin the so-called Imperium Nostrum Tour, a series of warm-up matches that will take La Familia to various European cities. Málaga, Badalona, ​​Paris, Madrid, and Cologne will be the venues where the national team will face the Czech Republic, Portugal, France (twice), and Germany (also twice).