Fantastic performance by Olimpia, capable to hold Malaga under 60 points scored, playing a solid basketball of great intensity, overcoming Alessandro Gentile’s absence and foul trouble especially in the small forward position with Moss and a fighting Cerella, to win its 8th home game in Euroleague competition, the fourth in the Top 16, improving its record to 4-3 at mid-point in a crowded Pala Desio. Ketih Langford is good enough to carry the team in the first period, the defense completes the job and there are also big offensive spurts by Samuels and Jerrells. And when it’s time to close the deal, Nicolò Melli takes over. 70-59 is the final score and it’s even a strict margin thinking about the game’s development.
THE FIRST HALF – The game is very rough initially, with turnovers and mistakes all over the floor, because defenses are keeping up. Olimpia goes to Samardo Samuels often and he scores four quick points but the first problem to overcome is the fould situation. Two for Melli and two for Samuels himself. Coach Luca Banchi is forced to go to his bench very early in the game. Two big plays by Langford push Olimpia up by five twice. When Malaga is within one, 15-14, it’s Langford again to complete a three-point play and eventually to score four more points in order to re-establish the five-point lead, 22-17, at the end of the first. In the second quarter, Olimpia dominates defensively but too many misses are keeping EA7 from getting away, until Jerrells makes back-to-back threes to open up a 10-point lead, 30-20. Two big plays by Caner-Medley and Dragic allow Malaga to get back within six, 32-26, forcing Banchi to call a time-out. But Olimpia bounces back very strong with 100 seconds of great defense, producing a thunderous Langford’s dunk, a Malaga’s turnover while in the middle there’s also a big assist by Hackett for a devastanting Samuels’ dunk closing the half at 38-27.
THE SECOND HALF – David Moss commits two more fouls early in the third, one of them offensive, and with four fouls has to sit just to cheer Bruno Cerella producing an unreal play on the ground creating a Langford’s three and a 12-point lead, 47-35. Cerella, on fire, makes a steal generating the fast-break which pushed the lead at 18 with 3’21” left in the period and Langford has already scored 23 points while the crowd is getting crazy. At the end of the third is 57-40 Olimpia. Caner-Medley tries to bring Unicaja back into the game scoring twice from three while EA7 has got Cerella with four fouls along Moss and in a matter of two minutes is in the penalty. Malaga’s defense is very pshysical, they use a lot of zone, they also make some baskets with Stimac. Unicaja is within eight points, 62-54, when Olimpia breathes thanks to Melli getting on fire with a big block, a big rebound and finally a three pushing the lead up to 12, 68-56. Basically the end of the game.