It’s another “Monday Night” for Olimpia in the Italian league, this time at a historic arena, the Pala Verde in Villorba, just outside Treviso. It is the site of many tough battles, but also of a memorable win in Game 5 of the 2005 semifinal, a 61-57 victory that brought Olimpia back to the championship series after a nine-year hiatus. The current standings require a certain sense of urgency for both teams. Olimpia, boasting a three-game winning streak in the EuroLeague, must return to winning ways after suffering the end of a seven-game winning streak that had brought them back to the top of the league. Treviso is last in the standings, but its roster has been strengthened by three quality additions and some injury concerns are being resolved, which could boost their momentum during the imminent crucial strech of the season. Olimpia is obviously still without three foreign players, Leandro Bolmaro, Josh Nebo, and Nate Sestina, so the rotation is set. However, Stefano Tonut and Ousmane Diop are available again after completing their recovery program. It will be up to Coach Poeta (this is going to be his 50th Italian league game as a head coach) to decide how, if, and for how long to use them during this game, with an eye on the upcoming ones.
Nutribullet Treviso-Olimpia Milano will be played on Monday, February 9th, at 20:30 in Treviso.
COACH EMILIO KOVACIC – “Treviso is a different team than the one we faced in the Milan game. They have a new coach in Marcelo Nicola, the addition of a couple of valuable players like Radosevic and Cappelletti, and Weber now being available. Though they are missing important pieces like Macura and Olisevicius, Treviso is a dangerous team, due to their scoring potential and the fact that they are playing at home, having had a lot of time to prepare for this game. We will need to be focused to the max and give our best effort in order to win”.
TREVISO OUTLOOK – Compared to the Milan game early in the season, Treviso has made several changes to its roster, releasing Joe Ragland and center DeShawn Stephens but adding center Leon Radosevic and finally the creative JP Macura and Alessandro Cappelletti. Furthermore, Briante Weber, who was injured at the time, has returned to the team. The result is that the Treviso team now coached by Marcelo Nicola is deeper and more versatile than the one that began the season, although they are missing due to injuries JP Macura and Osvaldas Olisevicius (13.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game). The starting point-man is Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman who previously spent time in Italy with Pesaro before moving to Darussafaka and finally to Bilbao. Now, he is averaging 13.1 points per game, using his athleticism to get closer to the rim but also the three-point shot, with more than six attempts per game. Finally, he dishes 3.1 assists per game. Briante Weber, who played in Reggio Emilia but also boasts EuroLeague experience, is a high-energy player with top-notch defensive skills. In Treviso, he is averaging 14.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. With Olisevicius out, at the small forward Coach Nicola can use a three-guard line-up with Cappelletti or a regular configuration with Federico Miaschi (4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game). Ktuize Pinkins is a power forward who played in Casale and Turin, then spent three years in Scafati. He averages 11.6 points and is the team’s leading rebounder with 7.3 per game, including 2.3 on offense. The center is Leon Radosevic, a skilled and experienced center who is averaging 12.9 points per game on 57.8 percent shooting from two. In this new version, he is attempting nearly five three-pointers per game and grabbing 5.5 rebounds per game. The Italian core can count on David Torresani, one of the most promising young players in the league (8.2 points and 1.9 assists on average, 39.0 percent three-point shooting), forward Federico Miaschi, big men Matteo Chillo (4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds on average) and Francesco Pellegrino (allegedly out due to an injury), and since the past two games, former Sassari and Trapani point guard Alessandro Cappelletti (11.5 points and 4.5 assists per game), who is coming off the bench but is already playing 30.0 minutes per game.
THE TREVISO CONNECTION – David Torresani, 20 anni, campione europeo Under 20 la scorsa estate, ha cominciato a giocare a minibasket all’Olimpia prima che la famiglia si trasferisse all’estero e poi rientrasse a Treviso appunto. Leon Radosevic ha giocato due stagioni a Milano tra il 2011 e il 2013 con 62 presenze e 255 punti segnati.
