Olimpia will play its sixth game of 2024 coming off the loss suffered against Red Star in which for the first time, since playing with a roster decimated by absences, the team was unable to be fully competitive. The fact remains that over the last 13 games played, counting since the home game against Virtus Bologna, Olimpia has won nine with three defeats coming in the closing minutes (at home against Panathinaikos, in Athens against Olympiacos, in Brescia). The Red Star game was indeed an exception. The ability of the players who had been less used up to that point to be ready was decisive. Before Shavon Shields’ injury, Olimpia had won five out of six games; then it won four out of seven but only with Red Star never had the feeling of being really competitive.

With this data to support its effort, Olimpia faces Tortona, this time with a two-day break between one game and the next. Tortona has reached the playoffs’ semifinal over the last couple of seasons, last Sunday defeated Scafati and then lost in Istanbul against Galatasaray. They remodeled the roster with the signing of former Italian league MVP Colbey Ross and Amine Noua, and replaced the historic coach Marco Ramondino with the very experienced Walter De Raffaele.

Among the game storylines, there is the return as an opponent of Tommaso Baldasso, who won two championships in Milan. “Baldasso and Colbey Ross have been the team’s engine over the last few games – assistant coach Mario Fioretti pointed out – so we need to contain them, both in transition and when they will play against a set defense. We expect a lot of different type of defenses: we’ll need to move the ball the right way.”