It was another bitter Friday for our two Italian teams involved in the Euroleague, but the knockouts in Milan and Sassari have a completely different flavour, both in terms of how they have matured and their impact on the continuation of the event.
Let's start from the most painful notes, or rather from the sixth defeat in 7 games of Sassari, which clearly surrendered in Turkey against Efes for 85-62, at the end of a match in which Sacchetti's team tried to get under only all 'start of the second and third period, but each time was immediately driven back by the hosts. Turks who have now joined Real Madrid at the top of the group, incredibly defeated at home (an event that hasn't happened for over a year) by the Unics kazan of a wild Curtis Jerrells, in one of his magical evenings that the Milanese fans remember Well.
For the Sardinian team, however, this other knockout virtually marks the end of their adventure for this year in the Euroleague, even if it must be said that they wasted their last real chance the week before by losing at home to Nizhny Novgorod. By now Dinamo would need a miracle, or more precisely three victories in the last three races and a series of combinations of the other results that staying here to explain would be bizarre and frankly would feed a now vain hope. To complicate everything, as mentioned, also the unforeseen blow of Unics Kazan on the Real pitch, with the Russians who will be guests of Sassari in the next round, and also the away success of Zalgiris on Nizhny Novgorod, if you look closely , does not simplify the situation, given that the Lithuanians are at the moment the only ones with which the Italian formation has the advantage in direct clashes (but on the last day they will have to go to Kaunas).
Let's say, however, that a victory against Kazan next week would still leave a ray of hope in the hands of the blue-and-whites, but starting to analyze the prospects for the season in a broader way, it must also be said that an early exit from the first Euroleague participation would not be absolutely a failure and the fact that the 8 eliminated teams of these first rounds then go on to join the other participants in the Eurocup Last 32, would open the doors to a competition for Dianamo where it could truly assert itself to the end, as Reggio Emilia teaches last season.
Moving on to Milan, it can be said that the defeat remedied in Barcelona (84-80) can be worth more than many other victories (unless a sensational qualifying harakiri in the next three matches), given that EA7 presented itself in the presence of one of the favorites to the final victory without Gentile (back problems) and Moss (flown to Chicago due to the death of her grandmother) and with Kleiza not at her best, but playing without too many thoughts she pulled off an unexpected performance, vigorous but also made up of excellent plays, surprising the balugrana and even reaching a 14-point lead.
A situation that went on until the end of the third quarter, when the hosts managed to put their lead back by one point, then in the last period we saw a truly captivating fight, with continuous overtaking and counter-overtaking, until , with 7 seconds to go, as too often happens in Europe, the referees also wanted to become protagonists by whistling a technical foul against Melli, a bizarre decision, not to say absurd, which definitively sent the match into the hands of the owners of home, who thus remain the only ones with full points in this Euroleague together with CSKA Moscow. For Milan, which due to the short rotations has given many minutes on the pitch even to players who play less at this level such as Cerella or Meacham (and receiving good responses), after the super evening in Varese with 37 points Brooks this time stopped at 11, while the best Hackett of the season was finally seen (21 points), the one who also drags his teammates, as well as the usual Samuels under the basket, now decisive even in the most important stages.
Defeat which, although it is the fifth, however does not in the least affect the path towards qualification for the Top 16, given that, apart from Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce who will fight for second place behind Barcelona, Olimpia is only interested in controlling the pace from snail who are holding Bayern Monaco and the Poles of Turow, always stuck to just one win and beaten both in the first leg. For EA7 the key appointment therefore becomes that of Wednesday at home against the Germans, when a packed Forum will push Hackett and his companions in search of a success that would be worth more than half a pass for the second phase of the tournament.
From a purely numerical and ranking point of view, it might not be a drama for Milan to even lose the game with less than seven points difference (the first leg in Germany ended 74-81), given that in the last round it is plans the trip to Turow (with the Poles almost certainly already out) and first Olimpia will host an already qualified Panathinaikos. But these are speeches that must not be followed up, one absolutely must not take risks and face sensational mockery, but only win and give an evening of celebration to the 12 who will be present on the Forum stands, all strictly in black, like the players on the pitch who will be sporting the third uniform for the occasion, as stated on the official website.
Three rounds from the end of the first phase, known as the groups of the two Italians, the fight for the last valid places is getting tighter and tighter in the other two groups as well. In group B, CSKA leads as expected, followed by Unicaja Malaga and Maccabi Tel Aviv (which did indeed lose some pieces of last season's incredible triumph, but woe to underestimate it), while at the moment the fourth place is occupied by Alba Berlin, to the detriment of Cedevita Zagreb (one win less) and Limoges (2 wins less). Finally, in group D, behind Olympiakos first with 5 victories, the most uncertain situation has arisen, a real battle at the end of which it is difficult to say who will come out on top. To date, the standings behind the Greeks read as follows: Red Star (4-3), Laboral Vitoria, Galatasaray and the Lithuanians of Neptunas (all 3-4), Valencia (2-5) last but still in the running.
