This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after the dust settled.
Messina on win over Baskonia: "My players defended like crazy"
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4 mins read
Ettore Messina, AX Armani Exchange Milan
"I think my players had a very good defensive game. They defended like crazy for 40 minutes and rebounded pretty well. On offense, I think we shared the ball enough to win. It was a good shooting night for us but we kept moving the ball and made some important shots down the stretch, when it was very important. To win in Vitoria is always very difficult, and it is an important win for us. We are very, very happy. It is good that they followed my instructions - I would be in trouble if they wouldn't do that! Seriously speaking, in these days, the EuroLeague so challenging. You see there has been already a coaching change after two games. Two games, a coach has already been fired. This is not a good day for coaches, and of course, clubs are fully free to do whatever they think it is right to do, I am not questioning that. I am just saying that the EuroLeague is so challenging that every game is so important, every possession is so important, that to come out with a win tonight from my players means a lot and I am very, very grateful."
Dusko Ivanovic, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"It was a tough game. From the very beginning, Milan played well, better than us. They played defense that gave us trouble on offense from the very beginning. We didn't circulate the ball well and didn't find clear options on offense, but even with all that, we were almost in the game. We had a very bad shooting percentage, outside shooting, and needed to hit more. We needed to score 75 points to win. With so few points, it is very difficult to win. It is clear that the best way [to solve this situation] is playing better defense, run the break and find easy fast break points and the the game is much easier. I believe that we had one fast break tonight, off a steal. This is very difficult. We need to play faster to have these 10-15 easy points."
Shavon Shields, AX Armani Exchange Milan
"They are a really tough team. They play well and were taking away what we like to do but I think everybody contributed tonight, which was good. This is a tough place to play, a tough place to win, but we got the job done. That was amazing [Baskonia fans giving him an ovation after the game]. I am really grateful for the love that they showed me. I really loved my time here. We ended with a championship, so I think I brought something pretty nice to the city, I was a part of something, so I appreciate my time here and I look back on it, it was really fun."
Nicolo Melli, AX Armani Exchange Milan
"I am happy because we won, because the team played well. This is the most important thing. Why we came here, why we practice. This is the only thing that matters. Every time you come to Vitoria and play against Baskonia, it is very tough. The gym is a tough gym, plus with the fans back in the arena, it was a special game. But we came here and approached the game well besides maybe the first minute, when the other team impacted more the game, but we handled the game very well."