Things are starting to look good for the Italian team after a difficult start to the season
Milan built more momentum with solid win over Maccabi
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 11 of 34
Group Regular Season
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With four wins out of the last five games, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan is rapidly gathering momentum and moving up the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings, with Thursday’s fully deserved 98-86 victory over floundering Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv sending Ettore Messina’s men into the thick of the race for the playoffs.
Milan is now at 5-6 – a far cry from the 1-5 start which left Messina under real pressure less than a month ago – and the good news doesn’t end there, because Thursday’s meeting with Maccabi saw the return of talisman Shavon Shields after missing the last five games through injury.
Shields was able to ease himself back into action, scoring just 4 points as his teammates got through the majority of the workload to earn a hard-working victory that saw Maccabi battle back from 14 points down to leave the outcome in the balance until the final few possessions.
But Milan stood strong – unlike other occasions earlier in the season – to dominate the latter stages and leave their coach very happy.
“We played a very good game,” said Messina. “To score 100 points in a EuroLeague game is never easy. They shared the ball, they worked together, and I’m very proud of them. Everybody who came onto the court helped us, and they have to enjoy it and go into the break with a little bit of momentum. It’s important.”
Maccabi coach Oded Kattash had no complaints about the outcome, pointing to Milan’s outstanding shooting accuracy as the hosts converted 22-of-31 two-point shots (71%) and 13-of-29 from long range (44.8%).
“They played extremely well,” admitted Kattash. “They shot the ball like crazy as a team. We knew it would not be easy, and they punished us a lot.”
Another of the many positives for Milan is a strong surge from guard Armoni Brooks, who followed 31 points at the weekend in an Italian League victory over Vanoli Cremona by hitting Maccabi with 16 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting.
With usual suspects Zach LeDay (22 points) and Nikola Mirotic (20) again in top form, recent signing Nico Mannion (12 points, 8 assists) settling in nicely in the backcourt, Fabien Causeur (11 points, 3 steals) leading by example, and Shields back in action, there’s every reason for Milan to look forward to the coming weeks with optimism.
There’s certainly no lack of positivity from LeDay, whose battling spirit has epitomized the team’s recent improvement, and the endlessly energetic forward encapsulated the new mood around his team as he told EuroLeague TV:
“Basketball is the best job in the world. To come to work every day and do something that we love, I’m blessed to be able to do what I do with these guys. Just trying to make the most of it, and we’ve got to keep on growing and learning together.”
Growing together, learning together… and now winning together, too. Milan is well and truly on the move.