If a regular season game can be compared to a playoff game, Sunday night’s game in Trapani certainly fits the bill perfectly. Trapani is first in the standings and is trying to clincj the top spot with the last game of the regular season in Bologna looming ahead. But at the same time, if it were to lose twice Trapani would risk slipping to fifth place. The stakes for the home team are very high. For Olimpia it is no different: currently, it is in fifth place but can climb as high as second place. In any case, to clinch home court advantage in the first round a win in Sicily is mandatory to keep the hope alive. By the way, the two teams could meet again in the first round of the playoffs or at least end up in the same half of the bracket. The two teams have similar numbers: Trapani is first for points scored and team rating; Olimpia is third and second respectively; Trapani is the best in three-point shooting (Olimpia was first in the EuroLeague in the same category), but Milan is the most accurate from the line and in general is the best shooting team in the league. Trapani is the team with most steals, Olimpia is the one that turn the ball over less than everybody else. In the end, it will be a matter of executing your game better as happened in the Milan game in which Olimpia won 105-90 finding more answers than the Sicilian team from its defense. Trapani made 13 three-pointers, Olimpia had 12, but won the game by attacking the rim more and better, shooting well in the paint, while Ousmane Diop had one of his best games so far. Unfortunately, Diop won’t be available in Trapani due to a sprain right ankle that he reported after Friday’s practice. However, Josh Nebo is the news of the day because he left with the team for Trapani and will be available albeit with minute restriction, following a season in which he was able to stay on the court in the Italian league for just 32 minutes over two games.
TRAPANI OUTLOOK – Trapani comes into this game riding a streak of four consecutive wins, is 12-2 at home where it has won the last eleven games after losing two of the first three. In the last few games, Coach Jasmin Repesa has used a physically imposing line-up with Justin Robinson, John Petrucelli, Gabe Brown at small forward, Amar Alibegovic and Chris Horton, a choice that allows him to have an explosive second unit with JD Notae and Langston Galloway. Trapani is a deep and versatile team, can play multiple line-ups, and recently also signed the former Pistoia center, Derek Ogbeide who can enter the rotation as a back-up option for Horton. In Naples, the first game in which he could be used, he did not play. Justin Robinson is the team’s leading scorer (14.1 per game) and first in assists (6.0 on average). Petrucelli, who plays both guard and small forward positions, is the classic “3-and-D”, dangerous from the arc (40.3 percent) and a fearsome defender on the ball. Brown, who started the season in Varese, is a big forward and a good shooter (6.9 points on average on 35.3 percent three-point shooting). The sixth man is JD Notae, a 27-year-old point guard but only in his third professional season, the second in Trapani. Last season he was instrumental in leading the team to the A2 championship, now he averages 13.6 points per game in just over 21 minutes on the court. Notae adds 3.2 assists and shoots 37.2 percent from three on 5.3 attempts, a lot considering the minutes he plays. Langston Galloway has been a starter at some points this season, 17 appearances, but not recently. He is a scoring guard with 452 NBA appearances under his belt, last year in Reggio Emilia. He averages 12.5 points and 3.0 assists per game, shoots 35.8 percent from three on 4.8 attempts. Galloway plays 26.0 minutes per game, more than anyone in a typical Jasmin Repesa’s platoon-system. The rotation of the perimeter players is completed by the shooter (5.6 points on average, 43.5 percent from three) Riccardo Rossato – who initially was a starter -, who recently debuted in the national team, and by Stefano Gentile. The starting power forward is Amar Alibegovic, 28 games out of 28 as a starter, 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds on average, a physical player who now shoots very well from distance (40.7 percent on threes). The center, Chris Horton is an athletic player who has a significant experience in the European leagues: he averages 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, of which 2.2 are offensive. Behind them Trapani has Akwasi Yeboah, a highly efficient forward, 9.9 points per game on 46.9 shooting from three and 62.2 percent from two, and Paul Eboua, who came during the season from Cremona.
| HEAD TO HEAD | Trapani | Milano |
| Team Rating | 106.7 (1°) | 104.8 (2°) |
| Points per game | 94.8 (1°) | 89.4 (3°) |
| Steals | 8.1 (1°) | 6.6 (4°) |
| Turnovers | 11.8 (7°) | 10.8 (1°) |
| 2-point shooting | 57.2% (3°) | 58.0 (2°) |
| 3-point shooting | 38.9% (1°) | 38.6% (2°) |
| Free throws pct | 79.4% (3°) | 82.5% (1°) |
| Field goal pct | 49.7% (2°) | 49.9% (1°) |
TRAPANI CONNECTION – Stefano Gentile spent the 2007/08 season in Milan, playing, as a youngster, nine games and scoring the first ten points of his career. Jasmin Repesa coached in Milan from 2015 to 2017, winning an Italian league championship, two Italian Cups and one Supercup.
NUMBERS – Armoni Brooks and Akwasi Yeboah are first and second in three-point shooting in the Italian league. Brooks is shooting 48.5 percent from the arc, Yeboah trails him with 46.9 percent. Both also shoot over 60.0 percent from two-point range. Chris Horton is first in two-point shooting with 68.8 percent, while Nikola Mirotic with 91.0 percent is the best free-throw shooter. In other words, the leaders of all three shooting categories will be on the court in Trapani.
