In Trento, there will be an already all-important Italian league game for Olimpia, given that the home team enters the week in first place, with an immaculate record of 5-0, a heavy one because it was obtained with three road wins, in Reggio Emilia, Treviso and Sassari. Trento has been consistently among the top-tier teams in the Italian league for years: it reached two championship series and was a playoff team last season, too. Furthermore, this game with Olimpia is particularly awaited here because over the last decade the two teams have often met in very relevant games, a championship series in 2018 and in general five playoff series, plus one Eurocup series. We are talking about more than 40 games overall. To add flavor – despite the absence of Shavon Shields – there is the return to Trento of the prodigal son Diego Flaccadori, a former franchise player of the Trentino team. On top of it, the game is an emotional one for Paolo Galbiati, Trento’s coach, and swingman Andrea Pecchia: both of them grew up at Olimpia, they have the Olimpia DNA on their bodies. Trento lost by two in Ulm during the week: in the Eurocup the team’s been less consistent so far. The 2-4 record allows them to remain in the running for the playoffs even if there is a very tough game against Joventut Badalona just around the corner. Olimpia is coming off a very tough week, with two EuroLeague rounds played, two tight games, one lost and one won which obviously left their mark in terms of energy, fatigue and injuries. To the absences of Ousmane Diop, David McCormack and Shavon Shields, we have to add those resulting from hits suffered in Thursday’s game against Virtus by Josh Nebo (right arm) and Neno Dimitrijevic (thumb). In fact, ten players are available, but Willie Caruso will be the only center: since injuries brought him back into the rotation, he has played 77 minutes over five games with 33 points and 19 rebounds. In Trento, head coach Ettore Messina, who ran the practice and then left with the team for Trento, will also return to the bench after three games out due to illness. “They play with energy and pace, so transition defense and rebounding will be mandatory to approach the game correctly,” assistant coach Mario Fioretti said upon leaving for Trento.

Tip off time on Sunday is 18:15.

TRENTO OUTLOOK – Four players from the Trento roster have always started in the five previous Italian league games. They are the English point guard (registered as an Italian), Quinn Ellis, 9.2 points, 3.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds on average; the swingman Myles Cale (14.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, currently shooting 60.0 percent from three); small forward Anthony Lamb (19.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game); center Selom Maguwbe (9.8 points, 8.4 rebounds per game, 66.7 percent two-point shooting). Of these, Cale has been playing in Belgium for two years; Lamb has 88 NBA appearances under his belt, the latest with Golden State in 2022/23 while last season he was with the New Zealand Breakers; Maguwbe is in his second European campaign after a year spent between Le Mans and Manresa. Guard Jordan Ford (16.8 points and 3.2 assists on average), an excellent three-point shooter (44.0 percent), six games with the Sacramento Kings last year, generally comes off the bench, like the historical team leader Toto Forray (3.4 points on average), the other swingman Andrea Pecchia (4.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game), who is a product of Olimpia’s academy, and center Jordan Bayehe (2.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game). Saliou Niang, who, like Ellis, is registered as an Italian, is often Galbiati’s choice at the power forward spot (he is averaging 6.8 points and 6.2 rebounds).