It is Olimpia’s first match point, the first potential “close-out game” of the series and of the season. It was achieved by playing a solid game in Trento both offensively and defensively. In Game 3, five players scored in double figures as happened in Game 2. The difference was in the defensive efficiency, with the two Trento main scorers, Prentiss Hubb and Kamar Baldwin, going from 44 overall points in Game 2 to 23 in Game 3. Hubb attempted 34 three-point shots over three games. Having shut him down in the second half of Game 3 was crucial to building the decisive lead. Olimpia now will face Trento for the seventh time this year, with five wins and one defeat, in Game 1, by one single point. In short, there are numbers to support the attempt to close the series out here in Trento, but in a tough arena and against a very aggressive and combative team. It remains to be seen what the conditions of the individuals will be: Shavon Shields (muscle strain) tried to play before Game 3 but was not fit enough and had to sit out; Shabazz Napier (14 assists in the two games won) ended Game 3 prematurely due to a blow to his left cheekbone which swelled abnormally. Fortunately, no fractures were detected. Tip-off time for Game 3 is 18:00 on Sunday.

GAME 1 – After a promising first quarter with 32 points scored, Olimpia lost its thyrhm not only offensively, but defensively too, suffering Derek Cooke, author of 21 points, verticality. After building a 13-point lead, Olimpia fell behind by seven in the third quarter. At that point it came back, but was unable to find the necessary consistency to take the lead. In the closing possessions, free throws by Nikola Mirotic (8/8) and Shavon Shields (27 points, 7-for-8 from two, 8-for-10 from the line) brought Olimpia back in the lead before the final shot with which Kamar Baldwin won the game for Trento, 85-84.

GAME 2 – Olimpia played another spectacular first quarter, with 35 points scored and produced 65 at the half, building a 17-point lead (65-48) which then reached 23 points in the second half. Trento had a very strong reaction in the fourth quarter with a series of three-pointers (Baldwin and Hubb combined for 44 points) that reduced the gap to around ten points but without ever becoming threatening. Olimpia still had a lot from Shavon Shields, 28 points with five threes, and from Nicolò Melli, 16 points out of 18 in the first half when he went 8-for-8 from the field. In the end, it was a 104-93 win.

GAME 3 – With no Shavon Shields, Olimpia started badly, going down 9-2 and then 12-5. Kyle Hines turned the game around with two offensive rebounds put backs and an assist. An offensive outburst by Prentiss Hubb pushed Trento ahead by eight in the second quarter. But Olimpia closed the half with a 10-0 run and eight consecutive points coming from Shabazz Napier. From that moment on, it controlled the game. Trento tried to contain the deficit throughout the third period until Johannes Voigtmann with two threes and Napier with a four-point play effectively ended the game. In the second half Olimpia held Hubb scoreless and the entire opposing team to 30 points, prevailing 83-68.

GAME NOTES – Olimpia is now 204-138 in playoff games. During the Messina era, Olimpia is 8-3 in closeout games, 5-3 on the road and 3-0 at home. Last year, leading the series 2-0, it lost Game 3 in Pesaro but again won the fourth game of the quarterfinals in Pesaro; in the semifinal, leading again 2-0, Olimpia finished the job winning Game 3 in Sassari; in the championship series, Olimpia lost Game 6 in Bologna while leading 3-2 but won Game 7 in Milan. In 2021/22 it was able to close the series out in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, while losing Game 5 in Bologna, ahead 3-2, in a championship series that was closed in the sixth game. In 2020/21, both in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Olimpia finished the series at the very first attempt on the road. In Game 3, Nicolò Melli became the second-best player in Olimpia history for games played in the playoffs with 73 (72 were effectively played). He also has reached 255 defensive rebounds in the playoffs, now sits only nine short of Dino Meneghin’s 264 for the first place ever in Olimpia history. Currently in the playoffs, he is averaging 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 70.3 percent two-point shooting. Johannes Voigtmann has a +20.5 plus/minus in the two games that he played. Kyle Hines is 10-for-12 from two in three games.