Milan beats Brindisi, Ettore Messina exults: ‘This is different’

An important success, and of great value to the team

Olimpia Milano coach Ettore Messina commented on the victory his team achieved at the sound of the buzzer against Brindisi: a lightning-fast 83-82.

The coach in the postgame commented, “Winning games like that certainly brings the team closer, it was nice to see them cheering around Devon. These are things that help improve chemistry. Tomorrow we leave for an eight-day trip, and getting on the plane after this win is different.”

Messina also talked about Brindisi: “Brindisi played a more than good game, shooting crazy percentages from three when it had been a bit of their Achilles’ heel until now. So we didn’t risk losing against a poor team, but against one that as always is put on the court well by Vitucci, and found good shooting percentages.”

The coach also talked about the absences, “Today moreover we had to leave out Billy Baron because he had played a lot of minutes in previous games and we were advised to give him a rest.”

And he also identified where the team suffered the most: “We started playing a defense in which we were committed but making too many mistakes in the little things. Too many fouls, we allowed them a lot of free throws. Then of course comes some fear of losing the game.”