Messina: It's a very important win for us, because ALBA plays a very high-quality basketball

The Italian powerhouse is fifth in the Euroleague standings with 12 wins in 19 games

Olimpia Milan coach Ettore Messina talks after the road win over ALBA Berlin.

“After a rough start, we managed to move the ball and get good shots. We also shot a good percentage. Because of that, they didn’t run. If you miss or turn the ball over, they are the best fastbreak team in Europe. They run, they share the ball, they’re extremely dangerous. I’m very grateful to the players because they are playing without two very important players – Micov and Shields – and this is not a routine win. We don’t have routine wins in the EuroLeague. Every win is something you have to work hard for.

“It’s a very important win for us, because ALBA plays a very high-quality basketball. It’s not easy to beat them, as we experienced last year. In the EuroLeague, nothing is granted. We started poorly with problems at the free-throw line. But I have to congratulate my players because they stayed calm and slowly came back into the game. Especially our second unit changed the game. In the end, we played a good game on both ends.”

The Italian powerhouse is fifth in the Euroleague standings with 12 wins in 19 games.