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Milano one step away from falling into the abyss

The Sardinians won both home matches and today Milano want to prevent being knocked out. They need three wins in a row, but no one returned from a 1-3 drawback in the history of the league

Although they've concluded the regular part of the competition with complete domination, this year's Milano didn't give out an impression they're invincible. The fact is that the Italian league has been getting weaker and weaker, and with their enormous budget, Milano is definitely using that to their advantage. But, no amount of money can help them in defending the title, because Milano are currently one step away from falling into the abyss.

It was known that Sassari doesn't suit them, although they have a lot of advantage in the match-up, and this semi-final series proves that. Sassari can beat anyone on a single match, but it seemed impossible to pass Milano on four wins. Now they're one step from the big finals and they have three match-points in front of them.

The home court proved to be crucial and Sassari reached their second win in front of their fans by winning 80-67. Like with the last meeting, this one was also tied so the team, through the first three quarters, exchanged 18 times in the leadership. The last quarter was key in which the mentally stronger Sassari won. They scored two three-pointers with whom they've achieved more than +9, and there was no turning back.

- We were in a draw for 30 minutes, and then we fell in the finals and they showed more calm. We don't have anything left but to turn to the next match - said Banchi after the defeat.

In that match physically they stood up to them the most, and that was confirmed by the fact that they grabbed the offensive rebound which is a real rarity in their duels. Milano again got through thanks to Gentile (24 points, 9-for-13) and Samuels (14 points, eight rebounds) who simply aren't enough to beat the Sardinians. Banchi tried to put Ragland as the starter  instead of Moss, but that didn't work either. In this series Milano didn't have enough help from other players. Brooks scored 11 points (4-for-8), Ragland and Hackett six each, and Melli, Kleiza and Moss two. Hackett also lost his nerve by the end of the match and received a technical. After that he again insulted them and earned a two-match suspension.

The captain is aware of the situation and how serious it is:

- I'm aware that this is difficult time. We're one defeat from being knocked out. Currently we're angry and bitter, but now we need the right answer and our fans - but they're far from giving up:

- Now we're returning to Milano. We're the current champions and we'll fight until the end. It's not over yet.

Sassari had to play without Kadji which was absent due to personal reasons, so Brooks returned to the five. They had four double-digits who were led by Logan and 19 points (5-for-8 three-pointers). Sanders threw in 15 points (4-for-9), Lawal 13 with nine rebounds, and Brooks 11 points (5-for-5). Sosa was again out of the rhythm with six points (2-for-11), and Dyson for the first time this season didn't score (0-for-9 from the floor).

Sacchetti was very pleased, especially with the defense:

- The defense may have held back their aggressiveness after which we felt mentally stronger.

The statistics say that when series on four won matches, no one managed to come back after 3-1 drawback. There were seven such series, and five of them ended with 4-1. That definitely doesn't favor Milano and they don't have room to calculate today. Other players need to join Gentile and Samuels, and winning would definitely return the confidence with which they would look for a new win and a decisive match in front of their fans.

I really don't get it why are Milano such favorites after only four matches. The fact that they're losing 3-1 tells us enough what kind of problems are they facing with in these series. Sassari found a way to stop them and overcome their physical lacking. They're completely aggressive, on the verge of fouls and Milano's offense are having great problems. Except for Gentile and Samuels they have no solutions in the offense, and the difficult circumstance is that they're no longer dominant in the rebound. Today Hackett is out as well because of the suspension, and he had a good match-up against Dyson. Ragland won't have that today and Sassari will have an easy job. Milano have great pressure on them which Sassari will try to make use of. Although the handicap seems like a logical option, and I think a lot better one is Milano's under. In these series they scored 75, 84, 75 and 67. In that whole story the margin is missed by a couple of points.