For Coach Ettore Messina it is the championship number seven of his career in Italy, but it is also the third consecutive in Milan: “We beat a strong, tough, deep team, with lots of weapons in attack to score in different ways. After the defeat in Trento, we found cohesion, determination and perhaps even the humility to play together, with rebounds, defense, the ability to attack the opponent’s weaknesses. This explains why, especially in the final, we always found so many different protagonists. I would say that we have found the solidity that we have only had in flashes during the year. I would say that at a certain point in the season it could have seemed like an unexpected result. Now we are satisfied, for ourselves, for everyone, for having repaid the trust and commitment of Mr. Armani and Mr. Dell’Orco. Nobody wants to make you win three consecutive championships, everyone multiplies their efforts. To do this you have to be capable of suffering and we were capable of suffering.”
On Stefano Tonut: “A beautiful season. Last year in the final he played a few minutes, this year he deserved a place in the top five, he was continuous, determined. The Italians are fundamental to winning the scudetto. Around Melli, we had him, Flaccadori, I’m sorry that Ricci had less space than he deserved. I apologized to him for this. I expect Bortolani and Caruso to also become important in the future: when they had to be, they were.”
On team chemistry: “It wasn’t a problem for one or two players but for everyone. In these weeks of work in the playoffs we have found it. In my career I have never had the perception of being destined to win, I have had moments in which you feel a different solidity. So it was also this year, during the days of Trento. But it was a difficult season. We had big ambitions. Then we realized that not everything was working. We never had Billy Baron. I don’t want to compare him to Belinelli, but for us he was our Belinelli. We never had it and thought we had it. Then we made a mistake that I don’t want to revisit again. I did it once and everyone was offended. Given the conditions, having got back on your feet and won, I think it was important.”
On Kyle Hines: “Melli’s gesture of letting him raise the cup was nice. Maybe he, as a friend, knows something that I don’t yet know. We’ll talk to him. If he decides that it’s time to stop, it will also be the moment when he becomes a great coach or manager.”
On his season: “I read a beautiful phrase from my colleague Andrea Trinchieri. He said that a defeat, a series cannot define him as a man and as a coach. He makes me think. He made me think about seeing Simone Pianigiani who won six, seven championships. I read a beautiful story about Jerry West: in his last year at the Lakers he didn’t see a game because he was in too much pain, he was tormented by the mistakes he may have made. This also made me think.”
