The Italian guard pulled off a complete outing with 18 points, 4 assists and 3 steals against his former mentor
Matteo Spagnolo shines in battle of old acquaintances at Buesa Arena
Informes de partidos
3 Min lectura
Regular Season
Round 14 of 38
Regular Season
Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizKBA
8878
EA7 Emporio Armani MilanEA7
Overview
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Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz protected its home court once again by defeating the visiting EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 88-78 on Friday night. This time, Buesa Arena served as a reunion point for old acquaintances, with Peppe Poeta returning to Vitoria as a coach to face his former teammate, Matteo Spagnolo.
Poeta spent part of the 2013-14 season plying his trade at Baskonia, where he featured in 10 EuroLeague games. Three years later he joined Auxilium Torino, winning the Italian Cup alongside his current Baskonia counterpart, Paolo Galbiati.
The Milan boss ended his playing career at Vanoli Cremona, where he had the opportunity to tutor an 18-year-old Spagnolo, who spent the 2021-22 campaign on loan there from Real Madrid. And on Friday night, it was the student who would deal a blow to his mentor’s morale.
Spagnolo hit the ground running in Round 14, going 3 for 4 from inside to record 8 points in the first quarter as Baskonia took a 23-20 lead into the second. He added 5 points to his tally before the break and stepped up on the defensive end in the third, with Baskonia holding Milan to just 12 points.
“For sure I felt pretty good throughout the game,” Spagnolo told EuroLeague TV. “The shots were falling. I feel that I am pretty happy with my performance, but mostly it’s a team win.”
The hosts went on to open a 70-54 lead heading into the fourth quarter, as Spagnolo ended the game on 18 points – his second-highest tally of the season. He also bagged 4 assists, as well as 3 steals on the other end in just under 27 minutes on the floor.
“Matteo is my boy,” Poeta said during the post-game press conference, his face lit up with a huge smile. “He played with me during the last year of my career. He's like a little brother to me. I'm happy for him, for his game [tonight]. He has a wonderful future ahead of him. He has to believe in himself and he can play more games like this. I'm sure of it.”
Boosted by the home crowd, Baskonia extended its winning streak at Buena Arena to seven games across all competitions, including five straight in the EuroLeague.
“We had to come and show up for our fans,” Spagnolo added. “We all feel like this is our home and we have to show up every time we come here.”
The Baskonia guard was helped by the ever-consistent Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who recorded his seventh 20-point night of the season. TLC went 3 for 5 from inside the arc and 4 for 9 from deep, finishing the game on 21 points. He pulled down 5 rebounds, too.
“We’ve proved that we are playing really good at home,” he told EuroLeague TV. “It’s tough [for the opponent] to come here and win, because we have the fans and we give our 100%. It’s home, so it feels good to be here and play here.”
The hosts managed 10 steals and forced Milan to as many as 17 turnovers, leading Poeta to admit that Baskonia's “energy didn’t allow us to compete as we would have liked to.”
That energy, engineered by the fans inside Buesa Arena and transmitted to the players on the floor, has allowed Baskonia to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. It remains to be seen whether Spagnolo and his teammates can carry that impetus into their road games.
