With 1.2 seconds left in the game, Olimpia down by one, Coach Ettore Messina had one last chance to complete a memorable comeback in Game 1 of the EuroLeague playoffs. So he called the timeout that he saved, drew a play and let his players do a memorable execution job. Malcolm Delaney made a long, high pass, that Zach LeDay, cutting toward the rim, grabbed and redirected and banked in. Olimpia won 79-78 and take a 1-0 lead over Bayern Munich. “When you are a coach if your players execute the play the way it is supposed to be executed you become very good, if the pass is too high or the receiver can’t grab the ball or make the shot, the you become a poor coach. That’s our life. The players have been great,” he said at the end of a game for the ages.
Olimpia started the game tight, struggled badly in the second quarter, digging itself a 19-point hole. “The good is that we kept playing, we showed character and resiliency. That’s the best part of the night that we can bring home,” Messina pointed out. Bayern had an outstanding first half and was capable to push the first few comeback attempts by Olimpia back. When the deficit was reduced to eight points in the third, Bayern responded and built another 14-point lead. Sergio Rodriguez led the rally. He scored 13 points for the night, all in the second half. He set the tone for the comeback. In the middle of a fourth quarter defensive gem, Kevin Punter had the three to take the lead. He missed. Bayern kept the lead. Olimpia played through a terrible shooting night. Kyle Hines took a great offensive rebound and assisted Zach LeDay for the tie with slightly over one minute left. A few seconds later, Sergio Rodriguez with 37 seconds remaining made a huge three. Olimpia led by three. After Coach Trinchieri called a timeout, Paul Zipser missed his three, but somehow Wade Baldwin conquered the offensive rebound and found a foul. From the line, he didn’t blink. Olimpia’s lead was one point.
The last two possessions are going to be unforgettable. Olimpia struggled to get a shot off, so with six seconds left Bayern invaded Milan’s halfcourt. Zan Sisko, who had a great game like DJ Seeley, who had a 23-point career-night, found himself midair. Somehow he found James Gist, the most experienced Bayern player. He was stopped, but a foul was called. He made both free throws, giving his team the lead once more. Then, Coach Messina called a timeout and the execution was heartwarming. “Coach drew up the play and I just ran in, I just wanted to catch it and to finish it. Crazy game. We’ve got to bounce back and keep getting better in the series. We wanted to come out [after halftime] and play hard, we knew we didn’t play good in the first half so we wanted to bring energy and that ended up bringing us back into the game. Now we’ve got to capitalize,” he said.
Zach LeDay finished with 17 points, went 9-for-9 from the line, grabbed seven boards and never came off the game in the entire second half. Sergio Rodriguez had 13 points with three threes in the second half, Malcolm Delaney added 10 points, with six rebounds and four assists. The last one was the one that LeDay converted in the winning shot.
