The win over Partizan got Olimpia back on track, but to validate the impact of that victory, it will need to be repeated against Baskonia in the first of two crucial games for the team’s future in the EuroLeague. Baskonia is a tricky team because it plays at a high tempo, and after having at least partially overcome the injury crisis that hampered it in the first half of the season, it now appears to be in good shape, as demonstrated by beating Zalgiris in the last round. Baskonia’s season story is easily recognizable: they paid a steep price for losing the first six games. They then became a very difficult team to beat on their home court (8-4), less solid on the road, where they won only one of thirteen games played. Olimpia enters the game in a relatively dire situation due to the loss of Leandro Bolmaro, a key player in the team’s chemistry due to his two-way impact, energy, and ability to play virtually four different positions on the floor. Without him, defense, versatility, and depth are lacking. It’s up to those available to step up: even in the most difficult moments, Olimpia has almost always shown moments—not brief ones—of excellent basketball. The key is to avoid dips in performance or blackouts, and to manage better the minutes of difficulty. But as Coach Poeta said after the Italian league defeat to Brescia, the team needs to overcome this together, as a team, not individually.

NOTES – Olimpia Milano-Baskonia is scheduled to take place in Milan’s Allianz Cloud on Tuesday, February 3rd, at 20:30.

THE REFEREES – Emin Mogulkoc (Turkey), Borys Ryzhyk (Ukraine), Steve Bittner (Germany).

COACH PEPPE POETA – “Baskonia is a team with a lot of identity that likes to play an uptempo kind of basketball. For us, the most important aspect it to find consistency for the entire 40 minutes of the game, which is exactly what we have lacked over the last few weeks.”

BASKONIA OUTLOOK – The Vitoria team has been heavily affected by injuries during the season, with the two starting guards, Trent Forrest and Markus Howard, missing around thirty games combined, and Hamidou Diallo choosing to leave the team midway through the season to sign a new contract in China. Another key player who missed many games (12) is the Lithuanian power forward Tadas Sedekerskis. Now, the situation is back to be normal, so much so that in the last round the Basque team beat Zalgiris, once again using well the home court advantage: at the Buesa Arena, Baskonia has a top-seeded pace. Trent Forrest, in his second year in Vitoria, is a point guard of notable physical size who is producing 9.9 points, 6.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. He is not a shooter but for this specific task there is Markus Howard, in his fourth season in Vitoria, who this year is averaging 11.6 points per game on 34.3 percent three-point shooting, numbers below his career high standards. His offensive potential is tremendous, as demonstrated by his 33-point performance on six-of-seven from three realized a few weeks ago in Barcelona. The other guards are Kobi Simmons, who is averaging 10.6 points and 3.2 assists per game, and Matteo Spagnolo, who averages 6.2 points and 2.2 assists in under 16 minutes of playing time, but was a key player in the Vitoria early season game, when he scored 18 points. The roster also includes the dimituive but very quick point guard Markquis Nowell (6.1 points and 3.6 assists per game), but he hasn’t played in the last few games. The small forward is Timothè Luwawu-Cabarrot, a veteran who is having the best season of his career, has scored in double figures 23 times over 24 games, shooting 40.9 percent from three, and averaging 19.0 points per night. In Vitoria, he scored 21 points, one of his ten games with 20 or more points this season. The back-up is Lithuanian Gytis Radzevicius, in his EuroLeague debut season, acquired from Vilnius midway through the season. He currently averages 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Power forward Tadas Sedekerskis averaged 8.0 points and 4.8 rebounds before going out with injuries. Rodions Kurucs (7.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game), who is shooting 40.4 percent from three, and Frenchman Clement Firsch (3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game), could play at the four position. The centers are Mamadi Diakite, who has enough outside shooting to play minutes at power forward (he is averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds), Canadian Eugene Omoruyi, a physical player (8.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game) who also has a decent long-range shot, and the starter Khalifa Diop, who averages 4.2 points per game but shoots 71.0 percent from the field and adds 4.4 rebounds in 17.2 minutes on the court. He is particularly effective as an offensive rebounder (1.9 per game).

THE BASKONIA CONNECTION – Shavon Shields spent two seasons in Vitoria and was a member of the Liga championship winning team in 2020. He played 59 EuroLeague games in Vitoria with 569 points scored. 63 more games were played in the Spanish league with 711 points scored. Nico Mannion played for Baskonia during the 2023/24 season with 8 games played and 48 points scored. Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot played 24 games for Olimpia during the 2022/23 season and scored 226 points. Finally, Peppe Poeta played in Vitoria during the 2013/14 season with 10 EuroLeague appearances and 39 points. Baskonia’s head coach, Paolo Galbiati is a product of Olimpia youth academy where he stayed for years and won the Under 17 Italian championship in 2013 before becoming, under Jasmin Repesa, a member of the coaching staff. As a coach, Galbiati has won an Italian Cup at the Turin helm, and his point guard was Peppe Poeta. He coached Poeta in Cremona too.

GAME NOTES – Armoni Brooks has made at least one three-point shot in 16 straight games. He ranks third in three-pointers made with 2.8 per game. Among the first ten in this category, he is the one with the highest shooting percentage, 44.4 percent. Zach LeDay needs 13 points to reach 2,500 for his career. Devin Booker needs 13 points to reach 2,000 for his career. Pippo Ricci appeared in the EuroLeague game number 144 with Olimpia, tying Kyle Hines at the 4th place all-time behind Nicolò Melli, Kaleb Tarczewski, Shavon Shields. Shavon Shields is 22 points shy of 2.000 with Olimpia in the EuroLeague. Marko Guduric has made 29 consecutive free throws.