After four road games over the first five games (2-2), Olimpia hosts Valencia at the Unipol Forum. In a league where only one team has lost every game and no team has won them all, where the standings are essentially a colossal traffic congestion, every game has potentially significant impact. Olimpia won in Kaunas with an emergency roster, missing three-fifths of its hypothetical starting lineup, and will be required to repeat against Valencia because Lorenzo Brown, Zach LeDay, and Josh Nebo continue to be out. Therefore, there will still be room at the point for the Mannion-Ellis combination, which also secured the win in Belgrade against Red Star. Among the big men, Bryant Dunston’s minutes as Devin Booker’s backup will continue to be crucial, as will the quality of Pippo Ricci—who was decisive in Kaunas—and perhaps even Nate Sestina, a newly signed power forward from Valencia, could help. The Spanish team plays at a high tempo and relies heavily on three-pointers: they lead the league in index rating, average 92.4 points per game, and dish more assists than any other team. However, at this time, they are second to last in points allowed—95.2 on average—while Olimpia leads the EuroLeague with 77.2. The numbers reflect a limited sample size but are indicative. It’s also true that Olimpia won its two games, scoring 89 points in Kaunas and 92 in Belgrade.
NOTE – Olimpia Milano-Valencia Basket is scheduled to be played on Thursday, October, 23, at 20:30 at Unipol Forum in Milan.
THE REFEREES – Ilija Belosevic (Serbia), Gytis Vilius (Lithuania), Sergio Silva (Portugal)
COACH ETTORE MESSINA– “We face a team that likes to keep the tempo as high as possible, a high scoring team because of their offensive organization. A balanced offense and transition defense will be the pillars we have to build the game over. We will have the chance to add one player because Nate Sestina will try to help us win the game, despite being able to practice with the team only twice.”
DEVIN BOOKER – “They are a talented team that goes up and and down the court. They really like to run the floor, so we will have to face them by using all the energy we can find, trusting ourselves for 40 minutes.”
VALENCIA BASKET OUTLOOK – Coach Pedro Martinez has a very deep roster that is used extensively in every game. In fact, no player averages more than 24 minutes per game. Omari Moore is the only player to have started every game so far. Only three players are on the court for more than twenty minutes per night. Italian international Darius Thompson—who arrived this summer from Valencia—has the highest average rating, he is scoring 14.0 points and dishing 4.8 assists per game. Above all, he’s shooting excellently (60.6 percent from two, 40.9 percent from three) and has scored in double figures in every game played so far. The starting point guard is generally Sergio De Larrea, 20, a member of the Spanish team at the last European Championships. He averages 9.0 points and 3.8 assists per game, and he is shooting 61.5 percent on threes, with a 23-point eruption against Virtus Bologna. Senegalese guard Brancou Badio, who started his jouney in Barcelona and was a key player in the Eurocup last year, is averaging 14.3 points per game and has scored in double figures in all three games played so far. In the last round, he scored 18 points against AS Monaco. Jean Montero made his season debut last week: he’s a 22-year-old point guard, the Eurocup Rising Star last year and a member of the All-Eurocup first team. A Dominican international, he landed in Spain recruited by Gran Canaria, and has also played in Seville and Andorra. Nigerian international Ike Iroegbu, who also spent a season in Treviso and has been with Girona during the last two seasons, could also be included in the rotation. The team’s leading scorer at the moment is Omari Moore, who can play multiple positions, was a star at San José State and last year at Darussafaka. He is producing 14.4 points and 5.0 assists per game (he had 10 against Villeurbanne in his EuroLeague debut). The perimeter players list include the experienced Xabi Lopez-Arostegui, rarely used until now, who has been with Valencia since 2021, and Josep Puerto, a product of the Valencia youth academy, who is coming off a 13-point game against Monaco. Also at the small forward spot, there is playing time for Kameron Taylor, acquired from Malaga (7.2 points per game) in the summer, a Seton Hall product. The starting power forward is usually Nathan Reuvers, who played in Italy, at Reggio Emilia, and is averaging 11.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 61.1 percent from two-point range. Valencia also uses potential shooters at the center position, such as Matt Costello (7.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game), who is shooting 38.5 percent on threes, and Jaime Pradilla (4.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game). Neal Sako is a more traditional and very athletic center, who played very well last year in Villeurbanne and is a fearsome offensive rebounder. The big men department is rounded out by Yankuba Sima, also acquired from Malaga, who hasn’t yet made his debut.
VALENCIA CONNECTION – Nate Sestina won the Spanish Super Cup this year with Valencia and last season he played 21 Eurocup games for the team, scoring 143 points.
GAME NOTES – Pippo Ricci’s 15 points in Kaunas are his career high, as are his five three-pointers in a single game, awith no misses. Leandro Bolmaro’s seven rebounds in the same game are also a personal best. Quinn Ellis’s 15 points too but obtain only in his fifth career appearance. Marko Guduric, meanwhile, is four three-pointers shy of 400 for his career. Shavon Shields has made at least 1 three-point shot in 24 of his last 25 games. Bryant Dunston ranks eighth all-time with 1.602 rebounds. Ioannis Bourousis is seventh with 1.603
