Physical and frenetic, the match travels on the edge of balance and tension. As if it were already the playoffs and not just the third day of the Euroleague. Lopsided in shooting, the rivals challenge each other showing muscles in defense but without fluidity going forward. The match is stuck on the edge of a draw. A thread that breaks after 32′ when Ettore Messina calls a time-out after a 4-0 run that puts the Greeks ahead by one. The time-out acts as a detonator, removes the cap from the dispute, wakes up EA7 Emporio Armani Milano who scores a 9-0 run in less than 2′ which directs the match, won in the end (65-53) in a crescendo Rossini. The trembling Pangos recovered balls and started the counterattack, shot from beyond the arc and pumped up the Milanese tide: the Canadian scored 8 points in a row (15 in the second 20′, 16 the total) while captain Melli on the second shot of throughout the match he scores the triple which makes the Forum jump to its feet, Olympiacos now on the floor sees Mirotic helplessly (20 points) put in the triple of the bracket which is also Olimpia’s first ring in the Euroleague after the knockout on his debut and the match postponed against Maccabi.
On the night of the tribute to Gigi Datome who enters the Olimpia “Hall of fame” dispensing before the tap-off – rewarded and excited on the parquet of an adoring Forum – words of thanks and encouragement, «here I was in a family, I thought I wouldn’t get emotional anymore but here I am, not everyone has been lucky enough to have felt loved and respected even in difficulties like what happened to me. So thank you, but now let’s think about the team, let’s drag them to victory”, and on the night of Kyle Hines who with token 393 becomes the player with the most appearances in the history of the Euroleague, surpassing the Lithuanian Jankunas, the two who immediately take the showcase Armani jewels. Mirotic and Shields are smoking guns, it is the award-winning company that scores the first 17 points scored against Olympiakos, last year’s finalist. Mirotic pierces the retina beyond the arc, Shields penetrates, floats and sinks: Pangos alternates pauses with bursts, Melli engages in the usual fight against Milutinov as if it were the re-edition of the World Cup challenge and the world champion Voigtmann struggles to find the area. Perfect balance in the first quarter also because on the other side Walkup and Papanikolaou held off well.
Physical and frenetic, the game was on the edge even in the second quarter. With Hall, Tonut and Flaccadori and a dunk from the Frenchman Kamangate, Armani Milano tries to gain an advantage (26-19) but is immediately recovered by the triple from Walkup (infallible in the first 20′) and Canaan, the color guard however stumbles in the second technical which removes him from the contest in which the size of the Serbian Milutinov stands out and dominates the skies, thus bringing the Greeks ahead for the first time in the match while Mirotic and Shields drop in percentages. The guests were one point ahead at half-time, ahead in rebounds and three-point percentage while Milan withstood the attack with recoveries and two-pointers.
Olimpia increases the defensive turns in the third quarter, especially Pangos increases his tone who repays Messina with 7 points in a row which, added to the 4 from Mirotic, give another mini-sprint to Milan in a challenge with high rhythms but low score (44-41 at 30′). The Greeks score a 4-0 run which pushes Messina to immediately call a time-out. A minute that works as a detonator: Olimpia dissolves, pushed by Pangos and a leonine Melli under the boards, giving themselves their first ring in the Euroleague.
2023-10-17 21:07:00
#Olimpia #Milano #knocks #Olympiacos #ring #Euroleague
