Olimpia: A Fierce Finish Wasn’t Enough—Dubai Wins at the Forum. Poeta: “If you lose your focus…”

Another EuroLeague loss for Milan: At the Forum, Peppe Poeta’s team fell 97-101 to Dubai, marking their fourth consecutive loss in the continental competition. Olimpia, already struggling in the first half, collapsed completely in the third quarter, when the visitors built a 20-point lead. In the closing minutes, the Milanese fought back, cutting the deficit to 2 points, but it wasn’t enough.

The star of the night was Bacon, who scored 29 points on 6-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. Kabengele also played well for Dubai with 18 points. For Milan, Mathews scored 21 points—he was the last of the home team to give up—Wright had 16, and RJCole contributed 14 points and 7 assists.

Here’s what Coach Poeta said to Euroleague TV after the loss: “We fought hard in the fourth quarter; we fought hard at the start, but we can’t afford to lose focus for so long—I mean, to lose our concentration against such a strong team. If you lose your focus for that long, you’ll pay the price.”

“The same thing happened against Real Madrid. We have flashes of good play—25 or 30 minutes—but it’s not enough. We need to stay focused for more than 40 minutes.”