By Antonis Stroggylakis / astroggylakis@eurohoops.net
Olimpia Milano coach Ettore Messina will probably use the first half of his team’s loss to AS Monaco on the 2024-25 EuroLeague opening night as a prime example of the consequences of poor rebounding.
Monaco grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the first half against Milano’s 13 on both ends, to close halftime up 47 – 26 en route to victory. The result? 19 (!) of the French team’s halftime points were a product of second-chance opportunities.
“Obviously, the game was almost decided on what happened in the first half,” Messina commented in the post-game presser. “In the first half, we were outmanned physically. Overall, physically, we struggled in every position.”
What Messina told his players during the break worked since Milano was completely different after their from the locker room, at least on the offensive side. EuroLeague newcomer Armoni Brooks then had 14 out of his 16 points in the first four minutes of the fourth period to help his team close the gap below double digits but Monaco was never really threatened.
“We played a little bigger in the second half with three bigs and Ricci at the ‘3’,” said Messina. “We rebounded better. I think we moved the ball much better. I mean, we scored 50+ points against a very good defensive team.
“The level of the physicality was not at our level today. We need to obviously learn and get better and we will learn and we will get better,” Messina concluded.