ESP – Saez, Spain closing in on Scariolo

MADRID (EuroBasket 2009) - Spanish basketball supremo Jose Luis Saez is very hopeful that BC Khimki’s Italian boss Sergio Scariolo will lead Spain’s national team when they play at this summer's EuroBasket.

The job has been vacant since the end of the Olympics, when Aito Garcia Reneses left the post to coach Unicaja Malaga in Spain’s ACB.

In the El Mundo newspaper, Saez, said he is to fly to the Moscow Region in early February to meet with Khimki.

"Nothing has been signed, but there is an agreement regarding the main issues with Sergio Scariolo," FEB president Saez said.

"I will travel to Moscow on the 3rd or 4th February to speak to them (Khimki) and see if they give me authorization.

"The earliest dates in which Sergio could be in Spain would be on the 19th and 20th February and we would try to take advantage of those days to unveil him.

"There is an agreement with Scariolo but we need the authorization of the club.”

Saez also revealed that the FEB would like to "establish a project of cooperation" with Khimki.

“We can share projects with Khimki in terms of structural exchanges,” he said.

"It could be beneficial for Khimki and for us as well.

"Scariolo has already spoken to Khimki and given his views. They will have to debate it and see what the possibilities are.”

Scariolo spent many years coach in Spain, most recently with Malaga last season.

At Khimki, where he has been at the helm since early in the season, he has been reunited with one of his former stars at Unicaja, Jorge Garbajosa, who returned to Europe last summer after deciding to part with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.

“We can establish a project of cooperation with a club that wants to develop,” Saez said.

“I hope that we succeed because we have a lot of hope placed in this project.

"There is the possibility that we can join the synergy of the two sides (Spanish Basketball Federation and Khimki).

"If that is not the case, I will respect Khimki´s decision but it will be a frustration for everyone, primarily for Sergio, who wants to be with us and because it is an important challenge."

Scariolo has also spoken about the possibility in El Mundo.

"The club has asked me for a planning report to see how things would function when I am away,” he said.

“I have handed it to them. They will make a decision having studied the project. For now, the club has not been against it."

Under Pepu Hernandez, Spain won the 2006 FIBA World Championship and then finished runners-up at EuroBasket 2007 in Madrid.

Last year under Garcia, they lost a thrilling gold-medal game to the United States, who finally stopped the rot and captured their first title at an Olympics or FIBA World Championship since the Sydney Games in 2000.

In Poland this year, Spain will face Slovenia, Serbia and Great Britain in group play.

FIBA