It seems incredible to say this after a 21-point defeat, the eighth in these Top 16 stingy with satisfactions, but before succumbing 98-77 at Fenerbahce, Milan played for several minutes perhaps its best game of this second phase of the Euroleague. and this makes us understand once again how this year the group put together by the Milanese management does not have the sufficient weapons to compete on equal terms at these levels, starting from the physicality and intensity to be put on the parquet. Certainly Banchi's team played its best quarter (the second) of this season, trimming 31 points from Obradovic's band, continuing even after the interval to respond blow by blow to the hosts (and even going ahead by + 5), but giving up a little only in the end of the third period, antechamber of the 33-16 partial of the last quarter, in which the Turks immediately extinguished any entrepreneurial ambitions on the part of Hackett and his companions.
And right here we had the confirmation of one of the major defects of EA7 this season, i.e. the continuity over the entire 40 minutes, which in Serie A can be easily remedied with partials that annihilate the opponents, but in Euroleague is not eligible. Compared to 12 months ago, Olimpia has almost never managed to get the upper hand in the finals of matches fought against stronger opponents, but rather has often collapsed dramatically, blocking itself in attack, abandoning any team action and relying only on the invention of singles, and failing to withstand the impact in defense, when the others raise the level of play. But above all, too many matches (and here we can also speak of the defeat in the Italian Cup against Sassari) affected and negatively addressed some starts that were too soft, which in some cases dug a furrow right away or in any case forced paid reactions then in the continuation of the races.
Many criticisms of the fans against Banchi (in addition to the management of the changes throughout the matches) are aimed precisely at the lack of flexibility of the starting quintet, with the various Melli and Moss who carry out their task, but certainly one cannot say that they are players who immediately attack the opposing defenses. Against Fenerbahce Banchi tried to start with the surprise Cerella, but frankly this didn't seem like the match in which to immediately throw the commendable Bruno into the fray, renouncing as always to field MarShon Brooks from the start, as anarchic as you like, but sure the strongest striker of this team, with guaranteed 20 points in the hands. It might seem like blasphemy given her performance this season (it would be better to say the last few seasons), but trying to entrust immediately to Kleiza too, often soft and irritable, but still a gun that can be lethal if activated, could be an option for the remaining three European matches, in which Milan can play it with nothing to lose, to try to reach a now miraculous qualification.
Returning to Brooks, yesterday he was again the best scorer of his team with 21 points, followed by captain Alessandro Gentile with 19 (therefore 40 in two), who continues his excellent moment of form and is in contention to receive the Rising Star award. as the best Under 22 of the season. The problem is the scarce, sometimes zero for some, contribution of points by the other elements, at these levels enormously limited from an offensive point of view compared to the matches of the Italian championship, if we exclude a few evenings of grace in turn by the various Hacketts , Ragland and Samuels, but never all together in the same 40 minutes. Speaking of Samuels, devastating with certain opponents but in great difficulty when the size of his rivals under the basket increases (see the Fenerbahce players), one of the positive surprises comes from the latest arrival Elegar, who also last night demonstrated that he has the verticality missing in the Jamaican center and to be able to easily be that replacement sought for the whole season, given that unfortunately Shawn James is also definitively losing track.
Now, with Fenerbahce, CSKA and Olympiakos already qualified from the previous round, the situation in Milan is desperate with three games to go, but incredibly mathematics still keeps Gentile and his companions alive, who however now find themselves facing an Everest to climb. In fact, the Italian formation is stuck at 3 victories, with only Malaga eliminated (and beaten twice) behind them and on a par with Nizhny Novgorod, but above all two victories away from the couple Efes and Vitoria, with the Spaniards who in the last round they obtained a fundamental victory against Olympiakos, certainly not what the Milanese fans were hoping for. To move on to this point Milan has no more alternatives, they must win all three of their next matches (next Thursday the crucial match at the Forum with Laboral Kutxa, then in Istanbul with Efes and the last one at home against, hopefully , a not exactly concentrated CSKA) and hope that the other two contenders commit at least one more misstep, given that in the event that all three arrive on equal points, Milan would be largely penalized by the difference in total baskets, while taken individually against the Turks, they would have to overturn "only" the -2 of the first leg, but with the Basques the -19 of the first match stops any calculation in the bud.
Obviously, therefore, to hope to get on par with Efes (for them Olympiakos out, then Milan and lastly the derby at Fenerbahce's home) and instead override the Spaniards, who however should then lose all three, but on the calendar, after Milan away and Fenerbahce at home, they are planning the move to Malaga at the last one, which it is true that they won't want to give discounts to one of their rivals even at home, but they certainly won't be able to have the same motivations. So it's pointless to have any illusions, but to give everything to beat them next week at the Forum yes, and then everything suggests that in a couple of weeks Banchi and his players will be able to concentrate exclusively on the championship final in preparation for the playoffs.
