It is now a “Classic” of Italian basketball. The only anomaly is that Milan and Venezia, over the last 12 years in which they were both at the top of the Italian league, have never met in a championship series or an Italian Cup final. But the battles have been countless, including three very competitive playoffs series, the most heartfelt in 2016 when Olimpia prevailed in six games but after being down 2-1 with Game 4 scheduled at Taliercio. During the last season, the two teams met in the semi-final of the Italian Cup and this year in the semi-final of the Super Cup in Bologna. Then, there was the first regular game won by Olimpia.
The last week was tough for both: Olimpia played two EuroLeague games, saw the injury situation worsen (first Diego Flaccadori and then Nico Mannion were hurt, bet both of them are going to play tomorrow), won the first game against Alba Berlin but lost the last, with Partizan. Venezia, which is fighting for a Eurocup playoffs’ berth, has won its last three games, partially making up for the three previous defeats in a row that had eliminated the team from the Final Eight race. Over the last three games they beat Trieste and Cremona away, and won at home, going away, against Trapani. But this week they lost in the Eurocup against the Cluj, complicating their path to the playoffs.
On paper, the theme of the game is clear: Reyer with 77.1 points on average is the 15th team in the Italian league in terms of offensive productivity while Olimpia is second and has scored over 100 points in three of the last four games played. But in reality, the story is different: over the last two games, Venezia scored 88.5 points per game and shot 21-for-46 from three-point range, finding rhythm, accuracy and health after the many injuries that affected the team during the course of the season (Xavier Munford has just returned). “They are recovering players who were out and with them the level of their play has been going up. They have experience and talent at every position on the floor”, assistant coach Mario Fioretti pointed out after the last practice in Milan.
Furthermore, Olimpia obviously has depth problems at the center position where only Freddie Gillespie is available, exactly where Venezia is very deep and can count on a potential Italian league MVP, Mfiondu Kabengele, 14.1 points and 10.3 rebounds on average, a big man of terrifying physical power that Olimpia will have to fight not only with Gillespie but obviously with more unconventional weapons. “We need to pay particular attention to him and apply pressure on their perimeter players – Fioretti added – And finally we need to play well offensively against ona of the best defenses in the league with considerable physicality.”
Olimpia has won the last four Italian league games, climbing up the standings. However, this is a very difficult game in terms of timing, coming after two EuroLeague games, tradition in Venezia, and strength of the opponent.
Tip off time will be 17:00 on Sunday, January 19.
VENEZIA OUTLOOK – Reyer is a very physical team with four big men that are skilled and athletically imposing and the possibility of using a big lineup featuring Carl Wheatle as a nominal guard as happened lately. The most relevant player, also in the Eurocup, is Mfiondu Kabengele, a center of extreme physical power who is scoring 13.1 points per game and grabbing 10.3 rebounds of which 3.5 are offensive rebounds and is on his way to closing the season averaging a double double. His partner, Aamir Simms, produces 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and can play as a power forward or at the center spot. In the latter position, an alternative is Amedeo Tessitori, a very experienced inside player who scores 6.4 points per game on 64.4 percent two-point shooting. A key role is reserved for the shooter Kyle Wiltjer (11.1 points and 3.1 rebounds on average). The fifth big man is Alessandro Lever. The starting point guard is Tyler Ennis (14.8 points and 5.9 assists per game) who, after a troubled start due to physical problems, has returned to performing at the levels of last season in Naples. The backups are Davide Moretti (8.2 points and 2.2 assists per game) and Juan Fernandez. Moretti can play at the guard spot, just like Davide Casarin (2.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game) and Xavier Munford, who has just returned from an injury replacing Rodney McGruder, who was also sidelined by physical problems. A tactical solution is represented by the simultaneous use of the two small forwards, namely Carl Wheatle (3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds on average) and Jordan Parks (11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds on average), a veteran of the Italian league with the traits of a multidimensional player.
THE REYER CONNECTION – The only former player in Olimpia is Stefano Tonut, who played for seven years for Reyer. With Venezia, he won the Italian league twice and the Italian Cup once, as well as winning a Fiba Europe Cup. Tonut is in his third season at Olimpia. Davide Moretti moved to Reyer in the summer after spending the 2020/21 season in Milan (with Super Cup and Italian Cup wins; and the EuroLeague Final Four conquered) before moving to Pesaro and then Varese. Another former Olimpia player is Rodney McGruder, who last year was at Olimpia but only in EuroLeague games. Juan Fernandez has been under contract with Olimpia but never played in official games. This is his first season with Reyer.
