Euroleague: Olimpia Milano routs Belgrade but Ettore Messina identifies a critical issue

The first day of the 2025-2026 Euroleague immediately brought a smile to Olimpia Milano, which left the parquet of Belgrade’s Stark Arena with a 92-82 success over the host Red Star. LeDay best scorer with 21 points to the credit, in double figures for the Red Shoes also Shields (13), Nebo (12) and Guduric (10).

Commenting on the match’s progress in the postgame, Olimpia coach Ettore Messina congratulated his team, while pointing out a critical issue: “We were in front for almost the entire game, when Red Star went in front in the third quarter, in the only moment when we loosened the tension, the veterans took over the game”.

“Defense needs to be more consistent, though– warned Messina -, at times it wasn&#8217t. The’attack, on the other hand, was almost always effective, but we can be better. Guduric? He has recovered from tendinitis and did not play in the Super Cup, I knew he would be important tonight and he confirmed that he is a great champion”.

The Red and White coach then returned to talk about the recent passing of Giorgio Armani, the club’s patron: “The loss is not only sporting, but personal– he said. He will be forever in his debt. For the future, the situation is clear, which is also demonstrated by Dell’Orco&#8217s presence tonight: the club is part of the’company and will move forward in the best way possible”.