Datome injury, Ettore Messina does not hide concern

Olimpia Milano – Panathinaikos 78-76 in Euroleague game at ‘Mediolanum Forum’

Recovering from the resounding and premature elimination in the Coppa Italia at the hands of surprising Germani Brescia, later winner of the competition, Olimpia Milano reared its head again by beating Panathinaikos and racking up its third consecutive Euroleague success. The victory, which keeps alive the small hope of still qualifying for the Playoffs of the competition, was partially marred by Gigi Datome’s injury, which coach Ettore Messina mentioned in the usual post-game press conference.

“Datome suffered a sprained ankle. You saw how it was bandaged. Tomorrow he will have tests and we will see how many days he will have it. Hopefully it’s not as serious as it unfortunately seemed,” the coach said.

“I would like to thank the public for the vote of confidence. We are indebted to them, we hope to repay them. It was a game won by Melli’s two free throws and great defense by Tonut. There were moments of defense and offense, especially with the quintet of shooters, but we made life difficult for ourselves with bad defense at the beginning of the fourth period. We are happy with the win, now we go back to the gym to work,” Messina concluded.