Win over Crvena Zvezda provides a glimpse of hope to Olimpia Milan / News - Basketnews.com

Olimpia Milan snapped a 9-game losing streak after last night's win against Crvena Zvezda. Hopefully, this win will help the team build some kind of momentum to turn the tide in EuroLeague and begin the climb back to the playoff zone.

Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/GettyImages Credit Srdjan Stevanovic/GettyImages

After nine losses in a row, it's easy to believe that you're somehow cursed and there's no hope moving forward, and you start to realize that bad things will just keep happening, no matter what.

Player of the Game EFF 30 Brandon Davies Points 15 Accuracy 6-11 Rebounds 6 Assists 7

Olimpia Milan looked like a team on the verge of a precipice, about to tie their worst losing streak ever in the modern version of the EuroLeague. In 2016-17 the Italian club suffered 10 losses in a row when Jasmin Repesa was the head coach, and the club finished at the bottom of the standings.

The last two losses, against Panathinaikos and Maccabi Tel Aviv, had left their mark. The team did well in the first half and even built consistent leads. However, on both occasions, Olimpia Milan threw it all away in the second half, starting to make trivial mistakes and losing all kinds of rhythm offensively.

Their inability to keep composure down the stretch was also evident when the games were on the line.

Last night, in Belgrade against Crvena Zvezda, the Italian side saw once again the ghost of a close defeat that would have been extremely hard to manage, especially from a mental standpoint.

Milan entered the last 5 minutes of the game against Zvezda with a 12-point lead (66-54), a margin that would have looked comfortable to manage.

But, once again, mistakes started to pile up, and the Serbian side began to cut the deficit. Ivanovic's team went on a 10-0 run and entered the final minute of the game only down by 2 points (64-66).

Then, Billy Baron happened. The American sharpshooter made a crucial 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining on the clock, giving Milan the decisive cushion to manage in the game's final seconds.

Baron played for two seasons with Crvena Zvezda. He knows that environment better than his other teammates and was able to shut down the impressive atmosphere created by Zvezda's fans.

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The shooting guard finished the game as the top scorer of Olimpia Milan with 19 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 50% from 3-point (5/10). In the past two games, he's averaging 18.5 points per game with 3.5 rebounds and 50% from downtown.

After missing a month of action due to an injury, since his return to the court, coach Messina has empowered Baron with the keys to the team.

With a rookie point guard like Mitrou-Long and very limited alternative options in the backcourt, Baron became the main man, guiding the team with his experience and providing playmaking when necessary.

In terms of playmaking, though, last night was a big one for Brandon Davies. The American big man has often struggled to produce at the level that was expected from him when Milan signed him during the offseason. However, against Zvezda, Davies' performance was a crucial one for the Italian club.

The former Barcelona player finished the game with 15 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 30 PIR.

He did a little bit of everything, but most importantly, he moved the ball extremely well, which is something that the team needs more than ever right now, considering their offensive difficulties.

With Kevin Pangos and Shavon Shields out for the foreseeable future, it's absolutely crucial for Milan to have the best version of Brandon Davies available.

The big man was brought in to become an integral part of Messina's plans. However, just like many other of his teammates, he has only shown his real value at times and without consistency.

Winning on the road against Crvena Zvezda after losing 9 games in a row was far from easy, especially considering the recent form of the Serbian club. Since the arrival of Dusko Ivanovic, Zvezda won 6 games in a row and was definitely among the hottest teams in the competition.

With this victory, Olimpia Milan has now won both games on the road in Belgrade against Partizan and Zvezda.

In the post-game press conference, coach Ettore Messina stressed how important this win was for his players.

"I'm very happy for my players because they're going through a lot," coach Messina said after the game. "If you have watched our games, you could see that our players always played hard. We did not play well, which is different. For this reason, I feel relief."

The Italian head coach, who's also the president of basketball operations of Olimpia Milan, reminded that the injuries played a big role in the difficulties of the team so far.

"When we had our full backcourt available with Pangos, Shields, and Baron, we had won 4 out of 5 games. Then in the game against Bayern, Shields went down. The game after that, Baron went down and missed at least a month. Datome also didn't play for quite some time. We lacked chemistry because of all the injuries," Messina explained.

Messina put together this team, so he has always defended the choices made over the summer.

And for sure, injuries did play a role in the crisis that the team has been going through in the past few months, although it cannot be overlooked that offensively the team was struggling already when Shields was available.

But after such a tough stretch, this win was like a fresh breath of air for Milan, as they needed it more than anything else. It was extremely important for morale, but it also gave them a glimpse of hope moving forward.

The season is still long, and if Olimpia Milan can start a positive streak, getting back to the playoff picture wouldn't be impossible, although the mission remains extremely difficult.

Messina is still convinced that when this team is fully healthy, it is among the best in Europe, and rightfully so.

In the past two seasons, Milan has always been a major contender in the EuroLeague, and there are very few coaches with the amount of experience and leadership of coach Messina in the game.

There's still room to turn the situation around, and maybe this win against Zvezda will be remembered as the turning point of the season for Olimpia.

In the meanwhile, Milan's players can finally smile for at least a few hours after going through one of the most difficult moments in their careers. It's not much, but it's better than nothing.

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