Olimpia came up short again in Game 4, surrendering to Efes 75-70 in a thriller. Milano came back from a 0-8 start, a 11-point first period with a 32-point second quarter explosion. When Efes rebuilt a double-digit lead in the third quarter again Olimpia responded with defense, a great rebounding effort and holding Efes to Read More »
A day spent in Istanbul with the clear goal of recovering all the energy that is going to be possible to recover and a practice early in the afternoon. The approach to Game 4 is not going to change: Olimpia will have the same roster, with no Nicolò Melli, Malcolm Delaney and two players who Read More »
Olimpia superb effort in spite of being badly shorthanded came up just a little bit short. Don’t look at the 77-65 final score because it is a big lie. Olimpia was capable to comeback from 14 points down in the second period, closed the gap to seven at the half and with another incredible effort, Read More »
There will be a packed house in Istanbul for Game 3 of the EuroLeague playoffs. As Efes coach Ergin Ataman promised, the atmosphere "will be two or three times the exceptional one that we experienced tonight" referring to the great support provided by the Olimpia fans in Game 2. Milan have won the last two Read More »
Olimpia defeated Reggio Emilia 67-63, playing the game in the middle of a tough EuroLeague's playoff series against Efes. So the imperative was to stay healthy and save energy. The other goal, on top of winning the game, was to give some minutes to Gigi Datome, who came back after a knee procedure. Datome started Read More »
Olimpia had already led by 10 in the third quarter, but then suffered the inevitable Efes comeback when the European champions offense was sharp again and for a few consecutive possessions reduced the margin to a single point. But then Malcolm Delaney got injured. Then Sergio Rodriguez, the best player on the court in the Read More »
Raise your hand if, witnessing the second half of Shavon Shields in Game 2, you did not think about the famous fourth quarter of Game 6 of the 2018 Italian league championship final. He was demon-possessed in the same way. He scored 19 points out of his 21, but he had also eight rebounds, and Read More »
It was one of those nights. An epic one. Shorthanded as it was, with no Datome and no Melli, Olimpia used a "Next Man Up Mentality" and defeated the defending champions of Efes 73-66, with a fourth quarter for the ages. When Malcolm Delaney went down with an abdominal strain and Sergio Rodriguez, who scored Read More »
The European defending champions of Efes took possession of the series after a big Game 1 win in Milan. Now, it is Olimpia’s turn to respond and getting some momentum. During the first game, Olimpia was capable to hold Efes 19 points under its season average, struggling a little bit over Bryan Dunston in the Read More »
A nightmare shooting night, 17 for 55 from the field, doomed any Olimpia chance in Game 1 of the EuroLeague playoffs. Efes won convincingly 64-48. It was a weird game, Olimpia establish its tempo and made it a defensive battle. In fact, Efes was kept 19 points under its average. But the offensive futility prevented Read More »
