La domenica di Pasqua porta all’Unipol Forum la squadra più in forma del campionato. Reggio Emilia ha vinto le ultime sei partite, ha vinto otto delle ultime nove (l’unica sconfitta è avvenuta in casa contro Cantù), ha vinto le ultime cinque partite giocate in trasferta (l’ultima sconfitta risale al 4 gennaio, a Cremona) e nel girone di ritorno ha vinto a Venezia, ha vinto a Brescia, ha superato in casa nettamente anche la Virtus Bologna. Nelle ultime due trasferte, ha segnato 203 punti. Attraverso questa striscia di risultati, è risalita in classifica fino al sesto posto e al 50% di vittorie dopo un avvio stentato, corretto anche con alcuni interventi di mercato. Adesso, punta non solo ad un posto nei playoff ma anche a confermare l’attuale sesto posto. E’ una squadra ricca di giocatori esperti del campionato italiano, che può ruotare 11 giocatori e da tre stagioni ha lo stesso allenatore, Dimitris Priftis, che ha esperienza di EuroLeague a Kazan e Panathinaikos alle spalle. In questo momento, non ci poteva essere avversario peggiore per l’Olimpia che è reduce da due partite anomale, a Udine aveva dominato per 35 minuti salvo fermarsi negli ultimi cinque, a Parigi ha subito per 20 minuti e poi ha cancellato 22 dei 23 punti di scarto che aveva accumulato nel primo tempo. La continuità nell’arco della stessa gara resta il problema maggiore. Non c’è stato tempo per lavorare troppo e alle porte c’è l’ultimo doppio turno di EuroLeague che – a prescindere dalla classifica – andrà onorato al meglio.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milano-UNA Hotels Reggio Emilia is going to be played on April, 5, at 17:00 in Unipol Forum.

COACH BEPPE MANGONE – “We’re facing a team coming off six wins, so it is the hottest team in the league, considering they’ve beaten Bologna, Brescia, and Venezia during that run. They’re a well-coached team, with a clear defensive identity and a willingness to help each other out, which has resulted in the third-best defense in the Italian league. Offensively, they tend to control the tempo and rely on excellent team chemistry; in fact, they’re the best team at limiting its own turnovers. With these traits, and a remarkable ability to play on the road, they’ve climbed the standings compared to the start of the season. We’ll need to applay great pressure on their guards and move the ball a lot to avoid being caught in their net made of deflections and contested shots.”

REGGIO EMILIA OUTLOOK – Reggiana’s starting fives can vary widely. Troy Caupain and Tomas Woldetensae are generally the most used as starters. Point guard Caupain, who also played in Italy for Brescia, has been the team’s most consistent player so far, averaging 15.2 points and 5.8 assists per game, as well as 4.7 rebounds. Caupain attempts nearly six three-pointers per game, converting them at a 35.9 percent rate. Tomas Woldetensae, who played for Virginia, is in his first year at Reggio Emilia after a stint in Napoli and three seasons in Varese. He’s playing at the small forward spot. He’s currently averaging 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, shooting 38.1 percent from three. However, he’s only on the court for 15.0 minutes per game because Coach Dimitris Priftis uses a lot of a three-guard line-up. The most used guard is veteran Jaylen Barford, already seen in Pesaro, Rome, Cremona, last year in Russia in Kuban, who currently avregaes 15.0 points per game (also 3.4 rebounds). The guard rotation includes Stephen Brown (10.1 points and 3.1 assists per game), who is injured and will not be available in Milan; Lorenzo Uglietti (4.3 points and 2.2 assists per game), a guard with great determination and defensive aggressiveness; and Riccardo Rossato (5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game), who arrived during the season from Trapani and is now a regular on the national team. Rounding out the guard rotation is another experienced player, Michele Vitali, who averages 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, doesn’t shoot much but well (66.7 percent from two, 48.0 percent from three). At power forward, the starting position is usually for Luca Severini (3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game) who stays 16.1 minutes on the court. He is also an experienced player, having played in the last European Championships with the national team. The alternative is Bryson Williams, a forward from Texas Tech who spent last year in Poland, a solid player who averages 8.5 points on 62.6 percent two-point shooting and 4.0 rebounds per game. He’s been playing as a nominal center lately, too. The two true centers are Colombian Jaime Echenique, who averages 11.3 points on 61.2 percent two-point shooting and 4.6 rebounds per game, and JT Thor, who averages 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Thor struggles to make free throws but can occasionally make threes. Due to Brown’s absence, Reggio Emilia will welcome back its stretch power forward Kwam Cheatham (almost six threes per game attempted, his specialty), who has so far played only nine games and averages 8.8 points per game.