Ettore Messina expresses gratitude to Luca Banchi for classy gesture / News - Basketnews.com

Ettore Messina showed his appreciation for the fact that Luca Banchi chose to enter the Virtus Segafredo arena together with his colleague.

Credit: IPA/SIPA Credit IPA/SIPA

Luca Banchi and Ettore Messina share mutual respect among each other.

3-pointers this season

40%10,1Points made:10,1Accuracy:39,7%Place in standings:6Record max:16Record min:6Most made 3FGs:Marco BelinelliTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

When he was presented as the new coach of Virtus Bologna, the Tuscan coach spent kind words for his colleague, hoping that one day he will be able to work alongside him. On Tuesday night, in the first EuroLeague derby of the season between Virtus Segafredo Bologna and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Banchi also wanted to demonstrate his respect for Messina before the match.

Aware of the hostile climate towards Messina in Bologna, Banchi asked his colleague to enter the court together. In this way, Virtus fans had to refrain from insulting and booing the Milan coach because they were busy applauding their own coach.

"I want to thank Luca for the classy gesture in entering the court with me at the start of the match. You can probably understand why he did it. It was a nice gesture from a colleague," commented Messina in the press conference, after the defeat against Virtus (79-86).

"What happened before the match I think is an act of respect for the opponent and a gesture of admiration towards Messina," Banchi said in his own presser.

"Ettore doesn't need to thank me, it's the least that I can do. It's nothing extraordinary. I would like to clarify this since I have only been here a short time. If I didn't know the history of this club I couldn't project it into the future, so I have respect for history.

I have never hidden the fact that there is a lot of Sasha Djordjevic and Sergio Scariolo here, but when I see the 'V' for Virtus, I think of Dan Peterson, Porelli, Ettore Messina, Alberto Bucci. Entering the court alongside him is an honor,” echoed Banchi.

"He doesn't need to thank me, we have to thank him because every time you have the chance to play in an environment like this and against a coach like Ettore, you have to understand the privilege that you have," the Italian tactician concluded.

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