The words of the two coaches, Ettore Messina of Milan and Alessandro Magro of Brescia, after their clash in the twenty-ninth round of the LBA:
ETTORE MESSINA:
“It was a very important victory, we will have to beat Cremona on their home ground, where they will want to finish their excellent season well, to be sure of having the advantage of home advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Brescia is a team with physicality and size that in defense tries to close the area and force many shots from outside. In the first quarter we shot very well, in the second we were a little too content with shooting threes, but in the second half we were good at rebalancing the game, there were a few close-range baskets, by Hall, by Melli , Shields attacked the area a lot more. In the end, the percentages say that we attacked well, even with Hall playing reduced minutes and without Mirotic, who we hope to recover as early as next Sunday. The attack was more fluid in the second half because when you attack more entirely you also create better shots from outside. Then the defense picked up its tone in the second half.”
On Napier: “He is working hard to help the team on and off the pitch, today he made the best choices not only in shooting but also in passing. I’m happy”.
On Caruso in the quintet: “It’s not a gift, his minutes are deserved for how he’s training and how he played last Sunday against Scafati. Today the level was higher, against Miro Bilan and he struggled more, but he is an intelligent boy and I think he will be able to make the most of this match in which he had some difficulties, for example foul problems.”
On the playoff structure: “No, it’s not definitive. To have four foreign wingers today we were shorter in the long runs. So we are still thinking about it, these are not definitive choices. In the meantime, let’s think about recovering Mirotic immediately.”
ALESSANDRO MAGRO:
“Playing such an important match in this arena confirms our progress. We played until the end, but we paid a bit for our absences. When you play these types of matches that have such an important defensive and offensive quality, I think it quickly erases our last performance in Cremona, which we were not happy with. It was a match where we tried to execute what we had prepared. Milan did well to make a lot of three-point baskets in the first quarter. We had decided to fill the area a lot and take away easy points from them and this paid off in the second quarter. It’s obvious that when it counts, Milan put a lot of weight on defense and we struggled. Coming here and playing a match like this should give us that push to carry on like this. After being in the lead for large stretches at the top it’s a shame, but now we have to be ready. Now head to Brindisi. Our game is made of speed, of passes. I’m very happy with our defense for large stretches, but obviously there are some flaws. Our philosophy is to never disunite and I am proud of my players. We tried CJ’s evolution as a point guard tonight given Semaj’s absence. The goal is to honor the home games and make the fans proud. Give at least the passage of the first round.”
