The first attempt to get away was canceled, but the second one in the second period allowed Olimpia to go to intermission enjoying a 10-point lead that in the third was amplified. In the end, Olimpia defeated Asvel Villeurbanne 84-61. “Everyone that entered the game played with energy, desire and unselfishness. The key stat is the 14 steals that we made,” Coach Ettore Messina said. Most of these steals fueled the fastbreak, three straight were executed in the offensive backcourt. On one possession, Shavon Shiels made the steal, circled around the trhee-point line and made his three. Olimpia had also 27 assists, seven by Diego Flaccadori, six were added by Shields who extended his streak of games with at least three three-pointers. Nik Melli was all over the floror, too. He scored eight points in the opening quarter and came back in the third with ferocious determination. He scored three times attacking the rim and added another three to get to a game-high 17 points. It was special again since he passed Sergio Rodriguez as the fourth-best Olimpia scorer all-time in the EuroLeague.

Asvel started the game hot, led by Luwawu-Cabarrot. Olimpia responded with an 11-0 run and at one point led by 10 early in the game. A flurry of threes allowed Asvel to come back and take the lead momentarily. But Olimpia finshed the first half strong. In the third quarter, Melli dominated, the defense was huge and Johannes Voigtmann made some crucial field goals too. From that point on, the win was secured. Coach Messina used the entire bench: Giordano Bortolani made his customary three, another was added by Willie Caruso. Alex Poythress gave the team energy inside, scoring 11 points. “It was a good win, but unfortunately we don’t have time to celebrate since in 48 hours we have a great Panathinaikos team coming to town,” Messina closed his post-game remark.