By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
AX Armani Exchange Milan prevailed over visiting ASVEL Lyon Villeurbanne with an 87-73 victory in Round 2 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to seal its second victory of the season after a nearly perfect run in the fourth period.
Shavon Shields led all Milano scorers with 17 points, seven rebounds, as Sergio Rodriguez also scored in double digits with 13 points. Luigi Datome and Ricardo Moraschini completed the list of top scorers with 10 points each. Ettore Messina’s squad remained in charge for the entirety of the game and pushed ASVEL over the edge with a 17-8 run early in the fourth, to safeguard their advantage and seal the final victory.
“We scored 45 points in the first half, so that is always good for us”, said Shields. “We just needed to extend the lead, and that is what we did. It feels good – thanks to my teammates, they put me in great positions to help us win. I hope we can keep doing it moving forward.”
ASVEL’s Amine Noua exited the court with 12 points, while Norris Cole tapped 10 points and Moustapha Fall nearly reached double-double figures with 10 points and 8 rebounds. T.J. Parker’s squad suffered its second consecutive defeat in the competition, despite remaining competitive in the game for nearly three quarters.
“It was a game of runs. We made a run, they tried to come back, then we made another run… but I think that, overall, we sustained our effort and our defense was good”, said coach Ettore Messina. “In the second half, I think, they scored about 30 points and this is good, because in a day when we didn’t shoot that well, it could have been even more difficult. So we are happy and we move on. I think the players are good people and they enjoy being with each other. That is luck – sometimes you do all your best and unfortunately, people don’t click. With this group of people, they clicked, they like each other and also off the court. Hopefully, this will carry over on the court.”
Next week they are called to face Panathinaikos OPAP and Crvena Zvezda at home with hopes to restore some lost ground. Milano will seek to extend its streak against Olympiacos on the road and Real Madrid at home.