“We wanted Michael Roll for his EuroLeague experience and his skills, that probably suits well our team; we wanted Paul Biligha because is an Italian guy who had important National team experiences and can complete well the other big men,” Christos Stavropoulos, Olimpia’s general manager introduced to the media the two newcomers coming straight from their World Cup participation.
PAUL BILIGHA
THE PAST – “My last experience with the National Team made me better, because playing in the World Cup means playing against top-level opponents. About Venezia, we had a lot of players, when I was called up I did my job, we won the championship and now I’m in Milan, trying to win again.”
ETTORE MESSINA – “I guess I was his choice and I’m glad about it. During these two days we started to work and over time our familiarity will become bigger and bigger, with my teammates too. It’s necessary to start on a high note.”
THE EUROLEAGUE – “We have good big men, we have a little bit of everything between all of us, so I guess every game will be played depending by the other team’s skills and the Coach will give us what we need to have the best chance of winning the game. I will have to find the right rhythm in the EuroLeague, because playing every two or three days is never easy. It’s crucial to be prepared to face the challenge.”
THE PRESSURE – “When you play on a great team, every year you are almost obligated to win something, but in Venezia it was not very different. I’m used to it. In Milan, that won’t change much.”
PLAYING TIME – “Our Coach clarified immediately that we are a group of players and we’ll work as a group. We’ll have to bring energy on the court during practices and eventually during games. Playing time is not relevant to me, winning games is what I’m really interested in.”
MICHAEL ROLL
EXPACTATIONS, DIFFERENCE WITH MACCABI – “Let me say that I’m very excited to be here. Talking with Coach Messina, I think what he wants is similar to what Coach Spahija asked at Maccabi, in the sense that he came from the NBA too, in terms of how they run things, how to play some actions. I’m a smart player, I pick up concepts very fast, I just need to be with my teammates, learn where they want to get the ball, what exactly they like to do on the court and help the team starting from there.”
THE POSITION – “Basketball is more and more a positionless game, everybody can do a lot of things, even the bigs are very skilled. Playing 2 or 3 is very similar, there are a couple of post-up actions that are different. Other than that, I want to go on the court, make plays. 2 or 3 is similar, there are many guards switching during the actions. I know my teammates for a long time, they are very talented, they are smart, I’m happy to play with them.”
THE WORLD CUP – “For me it was an amazing experience, we had the chance to play Spain, who went on to win the gold. It was a great learning point, we played an amazing first half, we were down by three at halftime, that we lost by a lot. I brought a learning point home: the games, all of them, are 40-minute long, you cannot take a possession off. It shows that there’s a lot of talent across the World, somebody who is working hard and if you don’t, you cannot rest more, you have to come in every day and work.”
MACCABI-MILAN RIVALRY – “Yes, I heard about it, there are expectations of something magic happening between those two teams. The last couple years, leading up to the game, people talked about that and the games were funny, going overtime, decided on a last possession. But really, in the Euroleague, top to bottom, every game is hard, every night you can win or lose, so you got to be prepared.”
THE PRESSURE – “This is a business and everything starts from the results on the court. The office, staff, the coach, general manager, the success that you have on the court translate to the rest. It’s everywhere.”
