Coach Fioretti: "Milan's defensive aggression in the second half made the difference."
Admired by his team's first half, he was forced to acknowledge the opponent's merits for the defensive intensity they showed starting in the third quarter, which created a break that was never sewn up, with the Juventus attack suddenly in difficulty after having worked great up to that point.
Coach Mario Fioretti analyzes EA7 Emporio Armani Milano's 87-78 victory over Bertram Derthona Tortona at the Nova Arena on the opening day of the second half of the Serie A Unipol season.
“We played two quarters where we were evenly matched, suffering a few too many defensive problems, especially on the rebound, and also something from Mannion, who bothered us in one-on-one situations and pick-and-roll situations. We had an excellent offensive game in the first half; they were two of the best quarters of our season, with very few turnovers and a fluid approach to the basket. In the third quarter, however, Milan began to make more defensive changes, as has happened in other Milan games, and they strangled us. It's not that we gave up so much on defense, but we really struggled on offense to run, and it was really hard to find a good shot in the halfcourt. Turnovers increased, which is something we rarely have; we've only had one other time this season. So, too many turnovers, difficulty attacking substitutions, and not adequately mixing inside and outside options, and we ended up conceding the decisive run.”
"I have to say," he continued, "the boys always have the right attitude, and you can see it in the final score. Credit to Milan for having an incredible second half defensively, and it's our fault for not being able to adapt."
The Tortona coach's thoughts on the return of Ezra Manjon, absent since the fourth matchday of the season and still playing less after such a long absence: "I don't think Ezra can solve a situation like the one in the third quarter, but he can obviously help us. It's a matter of spreading the situation across five players; it would be foolish of us to think that a single player can solve such an aggressive display from the opposition. We need to be better as a team, spacing things better, reading the pass better, and balancing the inside and outside a bit more intelligently between the start and end of possession."
