2024-03-29 10:33:19
The last meeting of the teams in the fashion capital of the world ended with the victory of “Žalgiris” 83:70. Then Edgaras Ulanovas, who became Nikola Mirotic’s nightmare, scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and collected 32 utility points.
“Congratulations to “Žalgiris” and the entire staff of Andrea Trinchieri. They were excellent in the second half of the game. Our defense after the long break was not what the game in Kaunas required. We had too many poor individual performances. We were not able to defend ourselves against Lukas Lekavičius, Edmond Sumneris”, E. Messina did not hide his disappointment at the press conference.
Olimpia’s basketball players, who started the match strongly, went into the long break with a two-point advantage (37:35). However, in the second part of the match, Andrea Trinchieri’s students returned with new energy and started to change the result.
E. Sumner had an impressive performance, scoring 17 points (4/4 doubles, 2/2 triples, 3/4 penalties), distributing 5 assists, rebounding 3 balls and collecting 28 utility points in 15 minutes.
“I have many friends who know him (E.Sumner) and they always spoke well of him even before he came to Europe. We didn’t match his level of physicality. E. Sumner shot better than usual and we suffered in defense”, said the basketball professor about the American.
The 64-year-old Italian saw the main downfall of the team in the second half of the match and marked the significantly better fight of “Žalgiris” for offensive rebounds (12 vs. 7).
“The defense was poor in the second half. We fall behind, and when we fall behind, we think we need to do everything quickly to catch up. They noticed it and used it. And in the attack, he used the time to find where to attack. They deserved to win.”
Asked to evaluate how “Žalgiris” has changed after A. Trinchieri joined, the strategist refused to do so.
“I never judge any opponent and I don’t think it’s fair. I have never done that and I certainly won’t start doing it today,” answered E. Messina briefly.
Finally, the 64-year-old strategist was asked what the current Euroleague team could learn from Žalgiris in 1999. It was in that year that Kaunas “Žalgiris” defeated Bologna “Kinder” coached by E.Messina and became Euroleague champions for the first time in history.
“The movement of the ball. They shared the ball well, used great defenders like Tyus Edney and Anthony Bowie. Along with them, all the other players completed the team perfectly. They were a great team that played as a team.
We came into that game after the derby and it is known that whoever wins the derby rarely wins the final. We arrived tired, but they were a whole lot better. They beat Olympiakos, they beat us, they had a great season. It was a pleasure to watch that team.”
With this victory, “Žalgiris” jumped to 11th place in the standings. “Olimpia” ranks next (in 12th place).
2024-03-29 10:33:19