Ettore Messina, coach of EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, was interviewed on the pages of the Milanese edition of La Repubblica to take stock of the upcoming LBA Playoff UnipolSai 2024 and a consideration on the missed EuroLeague playoffs, one day before the end of the regular season. An excerpt of his words.
Playoffs open. “There are more teams that can think about the scudetto compared to last season, where we and Bologna were clearly one step ahead of the others. It will be a hard-fought playoff right from the quarter-finals and, what’s more, we return to a possible 5-game final and this is another notable difference. As for us, the situation is similar to 2023, let’s hope the final result is too. A year ago, we didn’t know what kind of contribution Gigi Datome could give us in the playoffs, this time we have to understand the conditions of Nikola Mirotic. And decide the definitive structure: in the past, it has always paid to choose which foreigners play and who has to be ready in case of need, because constantly changing doesn’t give confidence and tranquility to the team”.
Olimpia’s year in the EuroLeague, excluded from the playoffs and play-ins. “We had big problems up until Christmas, then the attack also improved but the injuries took away our continuity to recover. We made the wrong choice of director and got stuck. And I don’t want to hide behind a finger: transplanting a good and famous player like Mirotic into this team was not easy. We had, let’s say, difficulties in many moments, then they were ironed out.”
Messina confirms that he is very happy with the club. “Olimpia is a place that encourages you to do even better every day. It’s true, it’s very comfortable here. We have to make sure we stay there.”
