John DiBartolomeo ahead of the game in Milan: “We were on a good run, and we want to keep it going. We have to do our best to give our friends and family something to be happy about for two hours”
“Obviously, it’s not a normal time in the season to have so much time off,” said John DiBartolomeo. “We wasn’t together during the national team window; we had a few days to ourselves, and then the entire following week was about getting everyone together here in Belgrade. We’re back to work. Obviously, there are some distractions, to say the least, but we’re trying to do our best to focus on basketball. We were on a good run heading into this break, and we want to continue that.”
“Milano is right next to us in the standings, a team we are fighting with to reach the play-in,” the captain noted. “They’ve been playing very good basketball lately, it’s a tough challenge for us. From here on out, we’re approaching every matchup as a must-win as we enter the final nine rounds of the regular season.”
“Obviously, it’s very difficult,” DiBartolomeo replied when asked about preparing amidst the security situation in the Middle East. “Our thoughts are with our friends and family back home; we can’t be there with them right now. As hard as it is, we need to focus on our job and concentrate on basketball.”
“We’re in a situation where we have some familiarity with Belgrade,” John-D emphasized. “They always treat us well, so at least we have that to lean on. It’s a distraction for us, and we need to do our best to put it aside when we arrive at the arena – to give our friends and family back home something to be happy about for two hours.”
