Milan starts off strong against the Israelis, who are playing in Serbia in the cup, and spread in the second half with the defense and dividing the responsibilities in attack between their big players
Milan dominates at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Maccabi’s temporary home. Messina’s men win 107-74. This is the eleventh success in 20 seasonal appearances in the Euroleague. EA7 is increasingly in the running for a place in the post season. Continuity on both sides of the pitch was decisive for the Lombards, who did well at limiting Hoard (who finished with 2 points), and capitalizing on the other side. The LeDay-Mirotic-Shields trio was excellent, combining for 52 points.
MIROTIC AND DEFENSE
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The key to starting the match, for Milan, is the transition. Messina’s men grind out the game, collecting many defensive rebounds and orderly managing the resulting offensive possessions (8/15 from the field in the first 10′). The problem of EA7 is the closure of the area. In the first quarter alone, six rebounds were captured by the Israelis, who built their fortunes with internal play (20-14 Olimpia in the 10th minute). The Italian champions remain in control of the match, tightening a few screws at the back (only 1 attacking rebound allowed to Maccabi in the second quarter). Milan continues to punish the amnesia of Kattash’s team, which reveals obvious communication problems in defensive transition. Mirotic confirms himself as the most dangerous man with 13 points (4/7 from 2, 5/5 from free throws), while the “hosts” are in the hands of Randolph (12), Williams (8) and Jokubaitis (8) . At the long break, Olimpia leads 45-37. The long-range shot solution is not very profitable for both (0/14 from 3 for Maccabi, 2/11 for EA7). After the 4 rebounds taken at the start by the Israelis, the situation is balanced (20-16 for the Kattash team).
CONTINUITY AND LEDAY
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Milan’s offensive game plan does not change even at the start of the second half. Olimpia continues to play at pace, circulating the ball in attack and working very well in marking the long opponents in defence. A very generous Gillespie was fundamental in the two phases, distributing many balls in the offensive phase, to warm the hands of his shooters (and the percentages benefited from this, 12/29 from 3 at the end of the match). The former Bayern Munich player, like the entire Messina team, continues to pair well behind (as demonstrated by the 17 points conceded to Maccabi in the third set). EA7 closes the deal already in the 30th minute (78-54), as demonstrated by the score in the quarter (33-17). The Lombards are carried away by the usual LeDay. In the final period, Messina’s men limited themselves to managing the advantage they had already acquired.
Maccabi: Sorkin 16, Randolph 15, Jokubaitis 14
Milan: Shields 18, LeDay and Mirotic 17, Brooks 15, Bolmaro 14
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