Real Fired Scariolo, Romania Shocked Greece, and Two Macedonian Coaches Are Heading Where It Actually Counts

Real Madrid Fired Scariolo: A Split With the Coach Who Only Arrived From Spain's National Team Last Year

Real Madrid and coach Sergio Scariolo ended their cooperation by mutual agreement, the club announced. The Italian took over the bench of the „royal club” only last year, after leading Spain's national team, and now he's already history in Madrid. The split comes after a season that, by Real's standards, was a disappointment - a club used to finals and trophies rarely forgives mediocrity. When even one of the most respected coaches in European basketball doesn't last a full season, it tells you how short the patience is where winning isn't a goal but an obligation.

Romania Shocked Greece: The Biggest Upset in the History of the Qualifiers

It's rare for basketball to write a textbook example of the fact that rank on paper doesn't play on the court. Romania, 63rd on the FIBA list, beat Greece - the twelfth-ranked power in the world - 73:66, despite trailing by 14 points at one stage. The gap of 51 places between the two teams is a new record for the largest ranking difference overturned by a winner in European qualifiers. The decisive moment came a minute before the end, when Emmy Kate blocked a sure Greek basket. Darom Russell was the best with 20 points. And on the Greek bench sat none other than Vassilis Spanoulis - the very coach because of whom a Macedonian international recently chose Thessaloniki. Basketball knows how to be brutal to famous names.

The NBA Is Testing a New Free-Throw Rule

While the stars fill the headlines with transfers, the NBA is quietly working on something that directly changes the flow of every game - a new rule for free throws. The league is experimenting with changes meant to speed up the game and cut the dead pauses that push viewers away. The details are still to be tested in the summer league, but the direction is clear: the NBA is more afraid of a boring game than of changing rules that are decades old. The question is whether purists will accept it, or see it as one more step toward a sport tailored for television rather than for tradition.

Emil Rajković in the NBA: A Macedonian Coach as a Guest With San Antonio in the Summer League

The Macedonian basketball school is getting recognition again where it matters most. Emil Rajković will this summer be part of the coaching staff of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Summer League, as a guest coach. Rajković is already in Texas, where the team is preparing for the tournament in Las Vegas from July 9 to 19. Such engagements are common practice - franchises invite proven European coaches every summer to exchange ideas and methods. But the fact that it's a Macedonian expert among those invited is no small thing: it's proof that our basketball know-how has value beyond the region too, even when the conditions back home rarely reward it.

Samardžiski Moves to the Bench: Mentoring the Young National Team

One of the most famous centers in the history of Macedonian basketball is starting a second life in the sport - this time on the bench. Predrag Samardžiski, who represented Macedonia at every level and ended his playing career in 2023, has joined the coaching staff of the youth national team. The team competes at the European Championship in Division B from July 10 to 19 in Bratislava. Samardžiski was part of one of the most successful generations in our history, and now he's passing that experience on to the next one. And that is exactly the key question for Macedonian basketball - whether the knowledge from the golden years will be remembered, or passed on to where it's needed most: the kids who are only now growing up.