It was a disappointing loss for Olimpia in its Italian league opener against Tortona, 74-71. Shorthanded because of the injury bug that hit Lorenzo Brown, Shavon Shields, Josh Nebo, Olimpia had a very up and down game that started very well but was destroyed during a tragic third eight-point third quarter. “We went to the locker room down by one at the half and was a little unsettling, so we got nervous and that showed up in the third period when we made mistakes on all kind. We were able to regroup, defend and come back. Up to when we had the game in our hands and reverted to our bad version and let Tortona win,” Coach Ettore Messina said. Olimpia led by as many as nine points several times in the first half, then went behind by as many as 15 points in the third quarter. A furious rally gave Milan the lead late in the game. Up by four, the defense collapsed again, and the offense stagnated or couldn’t generate any points. So, Tortona kept its poise and won the game.