With enormous difficulty and playing the ugliest match of its Top 16, Milan however did not miss its goal and beat Efes Istanbul 76-69, erasing the mock defeat of the first leg and hitting the eighth success (fifth in a row) in eleven meetings. A fundamental victory, which came at the end of a match that saw Olimpia almost always chasing their opponents, in an evening which, as it turned out, would have led to a painful defeat in recent years. Instead today the story is different, this is a real team with attributes and heart to spare, and when it seemed like it might be close to ruining its European ride right at the most beautiful moment, after all the work done in the previous days, it reacted great. making the ten thousand of the Forum breathe a sigh of relief and giving them another joy.
But Efes, who arrived in Milan with almost nothing left to ask given their position in the standings, did everything they could to complicate things, once again proving to be a tough nut to crack for Banchi's boys, as in the other three seasonal matches, with two affirmations by the Turks in Istanbul and who had seen Efes appear in front in the last quarter at the Forum. Exactly like yesterday evening, with the Turkish team up by four points (but they also reached +7) ten minutes from the end, thanks to his hard and physical game, not nice to look at but effective. But in the last quarter EA7, until then an awkward and blocked team, supported almost exclusively by a very solid Samardo Samuels (14 points and 12 rebounds, first double-double in the Euroleague), finally raised its pace and the defensive intensity and found a Jerrells in the Langford version (the great absentee due to injury and sitting in civilian clothes on the bench cheering on his teammates), who took the chestnuts out of the fire by making three triples of his own, or apparently meaningless and from distances sidereal, which brought Milan in front of three and a half minutes from the siren.
The former Partizan player, who became the fans' idol in a few months after a problem, is the man of the match and it's another one-against-all action of his that closes the games, after a triple from Moss from the corner and a dunk in the open field by Gentile (who alternates talented plays with others that are too botched) on a pass by Hackett who blows up the Forum. This time Planinic doesn't make bad jokes and with a bestial effort, perhaps more than one might have expected, Milan obtains that victory which gives them, even if not mathematically yet, the ticket for the quarterfinals in hand and maintains the margin of two victories over third-placed Panathinaikos.
Three rounds from the end, the playoffs are now one step away (given also the various crossings of the pursuers), but also the fundamental second place is very close, realistically to only one other victory, also thanks to two favorable results of this round , the defeat of Fenerbahce (the most dangerous rival and next opponent of EA7) on the field of Panathinaikos (now yes second and with the double confrontation with Milan in favor, but in the next day busy in Barcelona) and the internal knockout of Malaga with Barca (came to 11 out of 11 hits). Now in fourth and last place there is therefore a trio made up of Olympiakos (which doesn't worry too much being 0-2 with Milan), Fenerbahce and Malaga, with Efes and Laboral now out of contention for some time. A situation in the standings that was perhaps unthinkable a few months ago for Hackett and his companions, who therefore just need one last effort, but the schedule for the last three days is anything but easy and starts with the tough away match in Istanbul at Fenerbahce next week (from definitely still face without Langford and trying to defend the +5 of the first leg). More probable to close the discussion in the last two, even if they will be against Barcelona (with the Catalans who, however, should arrive at the Forum already certain of first place) and finally away to Malaga (and there we will have to see what the Andalusian's ranking situation will be like ).
But beyond the opponents, perhaps the biggest problem will be the absence of Keith Langford, the player with the best points average in Euroleague and Serie A, who is out with a muscle injury to his left hamstring. The American did not need to be operated on (as it seemed at first and which would have lengthened recovery times), but he has already started the medical treatment which should get him back on track within three weeks, so in all likelihood he should also miss the match against Barcelona (even if he would like to do everything to be there) and could be available again for the last time in Malaga, even if the prudence of the case could make us review the number 23 only in the quarter-finals (scheduled from 15 to April 25). Despite the final success and the team's grit and desire to win, the match against Efes showed all the importance of Langford in the Milanese offensive game, without his star at Olimpia the fluidity and creativity that brought much of of the victories of this season, often decided by some decisive plays of the ex Maccabi. If in the league the team has already demonstrated, as in the last round against Roma, that it knows how to make up for his absence without too many problems, thanks also to a length and quality of the roster that the others in Italy cannot have, in Europe it is not like this and an extra Langford would have made him look at the next three appointments with even more serenity and confidence.
