Brose Baskets’ Nicolo Melli is getting used to life outside of his native Italy, and further proof of this was on the 24-year-old’s return to home soil to help Bamberg beat Dinamo Sassari.
Melli’s sublime performance in his side’s 90-73 brought two career highs as the big man led Brose Baskets with 26 points and an index rating of +37.
He also amassed eight rebounds, four assists and three assists but maintains that it was a team performance in the win.
“It’s a great job. I think we had a very good first round, so we are happy,” Melli, who is playing outside of Italy for the first time in his eight-year professional career said.
“This win gives us the chance to really achieve the Top 16 qualification. So we are very happy. It wasn’t easy. We knew that Sassari was a very talented team, very unpredictable, but we did a very good job, especially in the third quarter, that they started very well with [David] Logan. We were good tonight and this was the result.”
Indeed the hosts got off to a fast start, they had more energy and executed better, offensively as Bamberg found themselves 21-14 behind.
But the German visitors gained the upper hand early in the second quarter, Latvian international Janis Strelnieks nailed a three to give Brose Baskets its first lead at 25-24.
From there, despite a battling effort from Dinamo Sassari, who led again for brief periods the rest of the way, the Germans always looked comfortable.
“We moved the ball very well,” Brose Baskets coach Andrea Trinchieri said. “And it’s a huge win for us on the road. You know, in Euroleague winning on the road is not easy, so we go home happy.”
