With Poeta on the bench (Messina affected) and without Shields, Guduric, LeDay, Brown and Diop, Milan achieved their third consecutive victory in the Euroleague. In the 80-72, the Italians were also decisive in the last quarter and Bolmaro’s 15 points
Winning was fundamental: Ea7 Milano suffered at the end, but achieved the objective of a third consecutive success in the Euroleague. This time against one of the most accessible teams in the top European competition (only two victories so far and never away from home), also full of absences including that of the veteran De Colo. At the Forum it ended 80-72 at the end of an evening that started off downhill thanks to the initial efforts of Brooks, who was ultimately the team’s best scorer with 23 points, 5/8 from three, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. With this victory, Milan reaches Bologna with 5 victories and 5 successes in Europe (ranking), waiting to host Olympiacos on Friday and then Trapani on Sunday in the championship.
how many absences
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Olimpia appears without Shields, Guduric, LeDay, Brown and Diop and is led from the bench by Peppe Poeta because Messina is sidelined by the flu. So Ellis (6 points but 10 assists at the end), Ricci and Bolmaro start in the quintet together with Nebo and Brooks, the absolute protagonist of the 7-0 initial break which becomes 11-2 after 6 minutes. All things considered, a decisive partial because Asvel will always chase and without ever taking the lead in a match where both teams have ups and downs. In the first quarter, the French were the ones who made a huge mess in attack, managing to score only 9 points, but as the minutes passed, the 3-2 zone defense of their opponents took away the fluidity of Ea7, who was ignited between the first two quarters by flashes from the arc from Mannion (11 points) and Sestina and came ahead 40-32 at halftime, also taking advantage of the advantages created by Booker in the small area.
resistence
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Villeurbanne’s team finds a lot from Traore in the first half, while in the third quarter Watson takes center stage (11 points in 10 minutes out of 25 total) and things get a little complicated for Olimpia. Precious are a step back from Ellis and a triple from Brooks from the corner that the French zone defense is unable to cover. Mannion is fundamental to stay ahead by a handful of points, but it is only the appetizer of a fourth period of suffering. At that point the difference is made by the group. In the 31st minute, when Asvel gets back to 56-53, the Italians come on. They are the ones who bring Milan back to +8, 63-55, the result of three defensive recoveries by Tonut, the triple by “Pippo” Ricci and Mannion. An advantage that was then countered, again from the arc, by Brooks with two centers that were worth first +9 and then +8 two and a half minutes from the end. Pure oxygen because the French not only narrowly win the second and fourth periods, but they don’t give up until the last second, with Watson surpassing his career record in the Euroleague, including the triple of -4 (76-72) with 80″ on the clock.
Milan: Brooks 23, Bolmaro 15, Booker 13
Asvel: Watson 25 points, Traore 19, Seljaas 11
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