Olimpia Loses to Virtus; Poeta: “It’s impossible to win with these stats”

Olimpia Milano lost 98-94 in overtime to Bologna in their fifth-round league match. The league-leading team, which staged a remarkable comeback, remains in first place with a perfect record, while the Milanese are four points behind with 4 points.

Here’s what Peppe Poeta had to say after his team’s loss: “I’m disappointed. We did what we set out to do for 35 minutes, sticking to the game plan, but when they made substitutions, we stalled the offense and couldn’t create anything except driving to the basket against Wright and Diop.”

“When those two fouled out, we stalled, losing the momentum that had allowed us to build a 19-point lead. Defensively, we did a good job for long stretches of the game, but if you give up 22 offensive rebounds, it’s impossible to win at this level. Their athleticism was the key—it’s a shame because we’d played perhaps one of our best games of the season.”

“We knew it would be tough against their physicality, just like in previous games against Bologna, but today it wasn’t enough. They were definitely more confident than we were, and it’s important for us to get a few more players back. In the back-and-forth finish, we lacked boldness—probably due to a lack of confidence—while they punished us with difficult but crucial baskets.”

“We need to focus on the positive things we did today, without dwelling on the loss—even though a win would obviously have been important for us.”