By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
MILAN, Italy – Milan started the EuroLeague season at home with a win over Paris Basketball after losing in Round 1 in Monaco. In both games, the team’s control room’s organizer Nenad Dimitrijevic – who’s playing at this level for the first time in his career – hasn’t had a smooth start.
Against Sasa Obradovic’s team, his score (10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) proved something, but he couldn’t drag his team to success. In Round 2, instead, Milan came out victorious but the 26-year-old struggled to make an impact, finishing with 9 points over 0/2 from two, 3/7 from three, and 3 turnovers.
Moreover, he didn’t have huge concurrency, as both Leandro Bolmaro and Diego Flaccadori were sidelined. In the post-game press conference, Ettore Messina was asked about his early adjustments.
“Today we were missing [Leandro] Bolmaro, who’s fundamental for us because he would have given a different defensive impact against a team that played only in transition or ISO”, he first answered. “Great players learn rapidly, and each time they find an obstacle, they make a step ahead”, Messina added.
Including other rookies too and not only Nenad Dimitrijevic, the experienced head coach asked for patience. “I’m convinced that these guys have quality and I’m confident [about it]. Let’s keep working because they will play according to their potential”, he also said.
Talking about rookies, as Josh Nebo was forced to miss the game due to injury and David McCormack was conditioned by foul troubles, Ousmane Diop had solid minutes against Paris. “Ousmane [Diop] did some very interesting things. We decided to play a lot with Zach [LeDay] and Nikola [Mirotic], but he has been really good”, Ettore Messina commented on the Senegalese-Italian center.
Previously, Milano’s head coach also stated how the game went overall. “It’s obviously an important win to break the ice. We found cohesion defensively only in the fourth quarter. It took us too much but at the end we got it. As Sarunas Jasikevicius said, It’s better to learn after a win than after a loss. It exactly applies to us too. Hopefully, it will be easier for our rookies to learn more after a win”, he said.
PHOTO CREDIT: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
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