Olimpia used a strong second half to get the win in Pesaro 85-71. Defensively, it was a great display of cohesion and attention that allowed Olimpia to hold Pesaro 20 points behind its season average. The three top Pesaro players, Abdur-Rakhman, Moretti and Cheatham who were combining for more than 50 points per game were held to 35. On top of that, Olimpia shot the ball well, 56.0 percent from two and 50.0 percent from three, and controlled the boards. The game was not over earlier because of too many turnovers, sometimes happening in attempt to hammer the ball inside to DeShaun Thomas and Brandon Davies who went 11-for-12 from the line. Tommaso Baldasso, basically in his debut, was sharp from the beginning making 4 of his first 5 threes to get the team back in the game after a nine-point early deficit. Melli had a 11-point, 9-rebound night but beyond the numbers he was instrumental at the start of the second half when he made seven consecutive points to determine the crucial run. “I’m glad tonight because our half court defense was great and we kept them way under their seasonal averages – Coach Ettore Messina said at the end- I think the second half was played well offensively too. Pesaro is deeper and has some leaders so winning here at this time was definitely not easy.”