How nice to hear Ettore Messina to say on his debut as head coach on a NBA bench : “I was terribly frightened by this debut, generally I am confident, today it was different. I have not thought to be the first non-American coach who can to win an NBA game, because I wanted to stay focused on the end goal. It was great. ”
The former coach of the Italian national team, now assistant manager at San Antonio Spurs, has replaced the on bench the head coach Greg Poporvich, forced to stop for health reasons and to undergo some medical treatments: the Texan team, the defending champion, has passed the Indiana Pacers 106-100.
Ettore Messina has an incredible palmares: 4 Euroleague (2 with Virtus Bologna, 2 with CSKA Moscow), 4 Italian championships, 7 Italian Cups, 1 Cup Winners Cup, 6 Russians and 1 silver at European Championships with the Italian national team.
But he is not afraid by his feelings and even to admit them in public. This is certainly one of the main winner characteristics: to accept even extreme fear and stay focused on the end goal.
