Ettore Messina closed Olimpia Milano’s EuroLeague season on a proud note but pointed to costly defeats and Josh Nebo’s injury as turning points. He now focuses on recovery, Serie A playoffs, and next season’s rebuild.
From the press room of the Unipol Forum, Ettore Messina shared his thoughts following EA7 Emporio Armani Milan’s final EuroLeague game of the season—a solid 111–89 win over Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz that brought their record to an even 17–17.
Still, that wasn’t enough to earn a spot in the play-in showdown.
“The best way to end this difficult EuroLeague season. We are happy for the fans—we put in a good performance. I am happy for Mr. Armani and Mr. Leo, who as always came to support us.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
40
|
| Nikola Mirotic | |
| Points | 23 |
| Accuracy | 8-12 |
| Rebounds | 10 |
| Assists | 3 |
I am happy for the team and the players, they played at a good level for the whole game. Last year, 17 victories were enough to make the play-in. But now we look to the future.”
The Italian tactician highlighted injuries and missed games as major turning points, particularly the absences of key players like Josh Nebo and Fabien Causeur.
“We are looking around, but at the moment it is very difficult. Our focus is on recovering the injured players, especially to see if Fabien [Causeur] can recover. On Monday or Tuesday, there will be an important consultation with the Houston specialist who is following Nebo. At the moment our attention is there."
Messina pointed out that sports director Gianmaria Vacirca and general manager Christos Stavropoulos are always looking at the market for players, "trying to gather as much information as possible."
"But right now, the only thing you can do is look for the best possible player. And teams that have something valuable don’t let go, especially with the playoffs coming. Bringing someone in now and hoping he fits quickly seems very, very difficult to me," he argued.
As for Neno Dimitrijevic, Messina was clear that his DNP was purely tactical:
“No, he has not had any relapses," he said. "His absence is a technical choice.”
Reflecting on the team’s final performance, Messina noted the looseness and team effort—while also underlining the need to deliver under pressure.
“All teams, when they have more freedom in their heads—because maybe the game is less important for the standings—play better.
But I think that this year we also played some very good games, as long as we had Mirotic and LeDay fresh. Tonight everyone participated in this victory. Certainly for some guys, it is easier to play when the ball weighs less. But unfortunately, you are at Olimpia—you have to make the difference when the ball weighs a lot.”
“Surely it was also a reminder that even with many people out, by moving the ball around we can do well. It was important to play this game.”
While Messina avoided using the word “regret,” he clearly pointed to two painful defeats that changed the course of Milano’s season.
“Personally, if I do the math, we're missing the game in Berlin against ALBA, and the one thrown away with Zalgiris. With those two wins, even with everything else, we would have gone to the play-ins with home-court advantage—and maybe even the playoffs.
In Berlin, we threw it away, the same with Zalgiris: we miss those two wins so much and it was a serious mistake.”
Returning to the injury woes, Messina singled out Josh Nebo’s limited five-game season as a major blow.
“We improved the number of wins, despite equalizing the bad luck—if I may say so. Nebo playing just five games is a huge bad luck that changed everything.
Maybe we would have been a tougher team. Mistakes are made, we’ll talk about them at the end of the season. But I’d be lying if I didn’t remember those two games.”
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