Nikola Mirotic (Ipa photo)
Olimpia Milano asphalt Valencia in the Euroleague. Ettore Messina: “Complete game, high level defense”
“We have to recognize that Valencia was missing two important players and we know well what it means to play without important players. But we played a complete match, with a lot of energy, a high-level defense for all 40 minutes,” the words of Ettore Messina after Olimpia Milano’s victory at home against Valencia 84-52. “We started aggressive, Mirotic scored on the rebound, he scored inside, he scored outside, we moved the ball well. Then the second quintet gave us the further push. Everyone contributed and this is a very encouraging sign”, underlines the coach of the Italian champion team.
Olimpia Milano, Mirotic MVp and a super defense: Valencia ko
Nikola Mirotic decisive in the success against the Spanish team: the Montenegrin champion started off like a rocket with 14 points in the first quarter which led to the first break that split the game, then finishing with 19 total points (56% from 2, 36% from 3) and 7 rebounds in 21 minutes.
Di Flaccadori’s impact and leadership were excellent in the first half, while Maodo Lo improved in the second half and finished in double figures (10 points) with 6 assists. “Maodo Lo and Diego Flaccadori alternated well. Diego pushed the ball well in the open field, Maodo read the situations well with the defense deployed. There were also Giordano Bortolani’s first points in the EuroLeague and this is another positive aspect of our match.” the words of Ettore Messina.
Diego Flaccadori (photo Ipa)
Milan wins with a great defensive performance (Nicolò Melli in the lead, but overall the whole team worked well on this front), confirming the trend of the last matches: “In the last three games we have defended well, I think it is due to the ability to always have balanced quintets on the pitch. We never all have good defenders, but we must have balance – the words of coach Olimpia – Poythress gave us a lot of energy and Tonut had a great week. He shot with conviction and this is fundamental for a player who always offers a lot in defense. Furthermore, it seems to me that he goes onto the pitch with confidence and calm. Obviously we never imagined we would win with this difference on an evening in which Shavon Shields didn’t score, but he defended, moved the ball and we were still at the top. I really liked that.”
Ettore Messina’s point on the transfer market: “I make Bartzokas’ words my own. We can’t bring a player just to bring him, he must have quality. The market doesn’t offer much, there are a couple of situations that we are following, but they are not easy. We could use a player with some size who is a facilitator and gets the ball going. Having someone with physical energy, construction and defense skills would give us even more order on the pitch and peace of mind.”
EA7 EMPORIO ARMANI MILAN – VALENCIA BASKETBALL 83-52
(23-12, 44-31, 64-39, 83-52).
Ettore Messina (Ipa photo)
Olimpia Milan: Lo 10 (6 stl, 3 stl), Poythress 8 (7 reb), Bortolani 5, Tonut 6, Melli 3, Ricci 3, Flaccadori 7, Hall 7, Shields, Mirotic 19 (7 reb), Hines 6, Voigtmann 9. Coach Messina.
Valencia: Harper 10, Claver, Puerto 2, Reuvers 8, Pradilla 1, Lopez-Arostegui 6, Ferrando 3, Inglis 6, Jovic 2, Robertson, Davies 9 (7 reb, 5 TO), Ojeleye 5. Coach Mumbru.
Olimpia Milano, the next races
L’Olimpia Milan returns to the field on Sunday (5pm) away against Scafatithen double match of Euroleague: Tuesday 14 November (8.30 pm) on the pitch Virtus Bologna and at the Forum on Thursday 16th (again at 8.30 pm) against the TurksAnadolu Ephes. So, Sunday 19th home match against Reyer Venice (6.15pm).
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