It was a negative Friday for the two Italian teams involved in the Euroleague, with Milan and Siena who, in Madrid and Poland, see the Halloween witches a day late and suffer two different but equally heavy defeats for the future. In Spain, EA7 takes a basketball lesson from Real, who win 93-74 in a game in which the Milanese team manages to stay close to their opponents only in the first quarter, while Montepaschi's third knockout out of three games from the modest Stelmet Zielona Gora for 73-65. But if Milan's defeat on the Madrid field is part of "normality", Siena's misstep could already be decisive for the continuation of the Tuscans in this competition.
In fact, Mens Sana, after the two initial defeats, to shake up its standings was forced to win on the field of the Poles, last year's surprise champions in their homeland, but who gave away their best men in the summer. They too badly defeated in the first two rounds (by Bayern and Malaga) and making their debut in a tournament like the Euroleague, they seemed to be the ideal opponents to unblock Siena's situation. Instead the swerve did not arrive, Zelmet celebrated its first ever success in the Europe that counts, while Crespi's team, which in the game was always forced to chase after their opponents without ever putting their head forward, finds itself alone at the bottom of the group with still zero points and hopes of progressing to the next phase already reduced to a flicker.
It's true that there are still 7 games to go, but the next one will be against reigning champions Olympiakos (top of the group with full points) and the other three, Galatasaray, Malaga and Bayern, have shown they have something more. Now Siena will be forced to hunt for points on these fields as well, but to do so it will have to hope for evenings of grace from its best players, Hackett in the first place, from whom it cannot ignore. The downsizing that the club has had to undergo, while in our championship it doesn't affect that much (as it demonstrated on the last day by dominating and sweeping away Virtus Bologna), in Europe is leading to an evident drop in competitiveness to which Siena had become accustomed in recent years, but never give this team dead, Olympiakos is warned.
Milan, on the other hand, was awaiting the fascinating challenge in the presence of the Spanish champions Real Madrid, a positive result was not expected, but it was interesting to understand what Olimpia's value could be when the level rises significantly. But for Banchi's team, after the -20 immediately on their debut in Turkey against Efes, another rejection has arrived in the exam of the great continental basketball, a defeat that does not change the situation in the group, but clarifies the real Milan's European prospects also for this year. It must be said that ahead was one of the big favorites for final success, still unbeaten in this start of the season between the championship and the Euroleague with an average gap of more than 25 points, but from EA7 seen in recent meetings, both more square in attack than in defense, one could hope for a little more. On the other hand, this Real is too strong, from one if not two higher categories, a formation full of individual champions but who play great as a team, a real show and an example to show to the younger ones.
Milan sank under the blows of the opposing stars, the various Mirotic, Carroll, Fernandez, Rodriguez and Reyes did what they wanted and only in the final did Olimpia manage to reduce the defeat, albeit minimally. Among the Milanese ranks, no one was saved, while the former Bourousis, in the evening in which the now chronic problem of EA7 under the basket was highlighted for the umpteenth time, gave the impression (not new) that one of his more employment by Scariolo in the last two troubled seasons perhaps it would not have been a wrong choice. This year Samuels should be the one to make the big voice for Milan under the iron, with the changes of Wallace, Gigli and, if necessary, Melli. We will see his performance at the end of the season, it is certain that the weight under the basket and the play role seem to persist this time too, as they have for almost twenty years now. As mentioned, however, nothing compromised for Milan's journey towards the Top16, even if the victory of Bamberg (EA7's next opponent) over Efes may have complicated things a bit, restoring great balance and uncertainty in the group. said of Real firmly first and Strasbourg (beaten by Zalgiris) last with zero points.
