-The first and most important reason was that the names of the coaches-lecturers spoke for themselves. Who could say no to a clinic where Sergio Scariolo, Ettore Messina (I was extremely happy to meet him and talk to him again after spending 10 days with him and the Real Madrid team in January), Chus Mateo, Juan Antonio Orenga and Paco Alonso are sharing ideas and thoughts?  All these names were the guarantee that it would have been a high-level basketball clinic.

- The second reason that made me take the decision to come was the fact that the clinic is for a good cause. The profit goes to the Fundacion Cesare Scariolo, run by Sergio Scariolo and his team, which seeks happiness for hundreds of families with children in treatment for leukaemia and lymphoma.

- Last but not least it was the opportunity to meet many coaches from all over Europe and share opinions and ideas, making some friendships and connections.

Because all of that I came to Malaga with high expectations but I would have never imagined that the clinic will be so enjoyable and will give me such a knowledge.

At the beginning I was a little afraid because I do not understand Spanish very well, but soon I discovered that all the demonstrations on the court and the words of the lecturers were “basketball language” which is the same all over the world and I had no problem in understanding. Besides, I used the clinic to lift my knowledge of Spanish and at the end I can proudly say I also learned many spanish words and expressions, especially related to basketball.

The beginning of the clinic was very touching since there were couple of speeches, supported by video clips, about Toa Paterna and his work, the coach from Malaga who passed away last year and to whom the Clinic was dedicated, with many of his relatives in the conference room of the Jose Martin Carpena Arena.

Then it started: Paco Alonso spoke about attacking one-on-one from the dribble, Juan Antonio Orenga about working with big guys, Sergio Scariolo gave us an interesting lecture on defending baseline pick and roll and Ettore Messina talked about spacing and timing in offense, and about decision making in defense. It was the day full of basketball, full of interesting ideas, thoughts and drills. All the day just flew by and it looked like I was there for a couple of hours and not for the whole day. Just listening to “masters” of the game is priceless and I came to my apartment very excited and could hardly wait for the next day, for new lectures.

Day 2 started with coach Scariolo's lecture about attacking baseline pick and roll and finished with Chus Mateo and his ideas about spacing and attacking with four perimeter players.

The clinic finished with Sergio Scariolo's words and the distribution of certificates.

From a basketball point of view the most important and interesting thoughts were those of JA Orenga on developing coordination between handwork and footwork, Scariolo’s ideas about being aggressive and focused in defending P/R, about attacking baseline P/R with the ballhandler's crossover and also about creating a PG-PF-C triangle, Chus Mateo's drills for developing spacing and shooting… I respect all of them but I really enjoyed the most Ettore Messina’s lecture about spacing and timing in offense, about the offensive player's peripheral vision, about focus and his experience with top world prospects.

I must say that I made some friendships with Spanish coaches, and I definitely learned many new things, got new ideas and thoughts which I'll use in my work, if not immediately, somewhere in the future for sure. And that is what is all about, isn't it!

It will be very interesting to follow the teams of all these coaches and check if how the ideas they gave me (us) work on the court for them. For example – Let's see how the Spanish national team with coach Scariolo will attack and defend baseline pick and rolls, let's see how Messina's players will execute spacing and timing…etc.

I used my time in Malaga (since I stayed there for another 5 days) also to attend Paco Alonso's practice with his Clinicas Rincon team (team full of prospects) and watched a couple of practices of Unicaja's youth teams, thanks to my friend Alejandro.  I also took the opportunity and watched Chus Mateo in action at ACB game Unicaja: Granada and felt the cosy atmosphere of JM Carpena Arena.

Anyway, I'm sure that during my Malaga days, during my presence at the clinic, I have grown as a person and as a coach. I'm sure that I learned many new things, basketball wise, and also other things which will enrich my life.

I can and will recommend the Fundacion Cesare Scariolo’s Clinic in Malaga to everybody and can't wait for the 5th FCS clinic to take place at same time next year. Coaches should remember that we are learning during our whole life and attending clinics is one of the ways to learn a lot.

»Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can – there will always come a time when you'll be greatful you did.« - Sarah Caldwell

Finally, after the clinic in Malaga I have a new dream: to work someday with one of these coaches, like Sergio, Ettore,… and watch and learn from them every day, every hour, every minute…They are special for sure.

»Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined!« - HD Thoreau

Luka Bassin

Basketball coach - Slovenia

More info about Sergio's next clinics in the "Clinics" section