By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Olimpia Milano came to Belgrade without any road wins in the EuroLeague season, but the incredible Maodo Lo changed that. The German point guard had a career-high 32 points and a PIR of 38 in Stark Arena, packed with Crvena Zvezda‘s fans, leading Ettore Messina’s team to a 93-71 away victory.
In the post-game flash interview, he shared his happiness. “It’s a big-time win for us. It’s always tough to place in such an unbelievable atmosphere here in Belgrade. Every win in the EuroLeague is huge. We finished well, we rebounded better, and that helped us to win”, the German playmaker commented.
In what was probably Nikola Mirotic’s worst EuroLeague night with the red-and-white side so far (8 points and 3 rebounds), Shavon Shields posted 19 points with 5 rebounds, while Nicolò Melli added 11 points and 5 boards. “It was a very nice win for us, we now coming here to play it wasn’t easy but we came prepared. I’m very happy for Maodo Lo”, the Italian captain shared in the aftermath.
“Every game for us is very important after the tough start we had. We are coming from a good couple of weeks of work and I’m happy for my players because they’re enjoying the challenge, they’re playing together with more enthusiasm and more confidence. We continue to work”, Ettore Messina said before mentioning again the Shabazz Napier’s saga in the post-game press conference. “I already denied. I trusted the wrong journalist and I had a lovely conversation with him after the game”, he added.
On Crvena Zvezda‘s side, instead, only the Serbian duo composed of Dejan Davidovac and Nemanja Nedovic tried to keep its team afloat. The experienced small forward had 18 points and 6 rebounds, while his countryman shooting guard scored 16 points but delivered only 1/5 from deep against his former team.
Ioannis Sfairopoulos was visibly disappointed about his team’s performance in the post-game interview. “We couldn’t control defensively the outside shooting, and I think this also had to do something with our confidence on offense”, the Greek head coach shared after the loss.
PHOTO CREDIT: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan