Today’s Italian Cup final in Turin is Olimpia’s 14th, the third consecutive, and its third attempt to reach nine, more than any other Italian team. The opponent is the same as Olimpia’s last triumph (in Pesaro in 2022), although Tommaso Baldasso and Paul Biligha were playing in Milan back then, and Coach Mario Fioretti was on the Olimpia bench, where he served for 22 years before moving to Tortona and now being part of a final as a head coach for the first time in his career. Tortona reached the championship game by coming from behind to defeat Venezia and then overcoming Virtus Bologna, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the third period. Olimpia played better in the second half than in the first against both Trieste and Brescia, going wild offensively, 200 points scored in 80 minutes. Against Trieste, Olimpia produced 48 points in the second half; against Brescia they were 50. But the opponent is tough: not only has Tortona defeated the odds twice in three days but they can count on the hottest player in Italy, Prentiss Hubb, 23.0 poiints per game in the last five games played, with 27 three-pointers. Trying to contain him is a task that will presumably fall to Leandro Bolmaro, 24 hours after battling Della Valle. However, Tortona can also count on Christian Vital, 19.5 points per game during the season, the competitive spirit of Tommy Baldasso, 16 points in the quarterfinal against Venezia, and power forward Justin Gorham, who went from averaging 9.5 points in the regular season to 15.0 in this tournament. Olimpia has been brilliant especially on offense so far, against two offensive-oriented teams, but it will need to establish its defense against a polished team like Tortona, knowing that—with Ousmane Diop unavailable—Josh Nebo will once again shoulder the brunt of the inside battles almost by himself, supported by players who will have to reinvent themselves in that position, like Pippo Ricci and Zach LeDay (seven rebounds against Brescia).
ITALIAN CUP NOTES – EA7 Emporio Armani Milano-Bertam Tortona will take place today at 17:00 at Turin’s Inalpi Arena.
REFEREES – Saverio Lanzarini, Michele Rossi, Lorenzo Baldini
TORTONA OUTLOOK – Tortona’s bench produced 40 points in the semifinal win against Bologna, a result of Coach Mario Fioretti’s decisions, to make two scorers coming off the bench: Prentiss Hubb and Tommaso Baldasso. The first call at point guard usually goes to Ezra Manjon, a player who had some physical problems in his first season in Tortona (he is averaging 6.9 points and 2.7 assists per game) but returned full-time about a month ago. He pairs with sharpshooter Christian Vital (averaging 18.9 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.1 rebounds for the Italian league season), a versatile scorer who can shoot both from three-point distance and from closer range, and draws 4.7 fouls per game. Prentiss Hubb, who played for Trento two years ago, was a key player in the second half of the semifinal. He is averaging 13.0 points and 5.0 assists per game, and is shooting 43.1 percent from three on 6.1 attempts per game. Hubb holds the season record for points scored in a game with 37. The fourth guard – third for minutes spent on the court – is Tommaso Baldasso (9.4 points and 2.1 assists per game), a physical guard who can get off at any moment. The small forward is Arturs Strautins, a physically impressive player who averages 11.5 points per game and shoots 44.0 percent from three. He’s no just a specialist, however: he also grabs 3.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 60.6 percent from two. The back up is Andrea Pecchia, whose defensive abilities often allow him to finish games on the court. He scores only 3.7 points per game in 18.1 minutes but averages 4.2 rebounds, an area where he’s underrated. Justin Gorham, in his second season at Tortona, is a solid player and a dangerous shooter. He averages 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, plus 2.2 assists. His reserve is another defensive specialist, Brekkott Chapman, a high-energy player averaging 4.2 points as a solid shooter (39.3 percent from three). The starting center is Polish international Dominik Olejniczak, a physically imposing, well-built inside player who knows how to play in the middle. He’s shooting 64.6 percent from two and is averaging 10.2 points per game. He’s also an excellent rebounder, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game, including 2.0 offensive rebounds. Paul Biligha, on the other hand, is a leaper with an excellent mid-range jumper: he averages 5.4 points and grabs 2.8 rebounds per game. As always, he’s capable of protecting the rim like few other centers. If needed, Fioretti will also turn to Joonas Riismaa.
THE TORTONA CONNECTION – Paul Biligha spent four years at Olimpia, with 127 Serie A appearances and 416 points scored. In his four seasons, he won two Italian championships (2022 and 2023), two Italian Cups titles (2021 and 2022), and a Supercup (2020), on top of reaching the 2021 EuroLeague Final Four. Tommaso Baldasso played in Milan for two seasons, winning two Italian championships with 58 appearances in the Italian league. The third former Olimpia player is Andrea Pecchia, who grew up in Olimpia’s youth academy, where he also won a Under 17 championship. Pippo Ricci played for a year in Tortona when the team was still in the second division. Coach Mario Fioretti is his first head coaching experience at Tortona, after 22 seasons as an assistant coach at Olimpia Milano.
ITALIAN CUP NOTES–Olimpia Milano has won the Italian Cup eight times in its history, like Virtus Bologna and Treviso, the other two teams that lead the list for wins. Olimpia has played in 13 finals in total (8-5), this is the 14th. The first final dates back to the 1969/70 season, in Rome, where Olimpia was defeated 74-66 by Ignis Varese, who that season also secured the league title and the Champions Cup. The first win came in 1972, at the Pala Ruffini in Turin, the same opponent but a different outcome. Olimpia won 81-77. That season they also won the Cup Winners’ Cup and the league, where they defeated Varese in the one-game play-off in Rome. Olimpia then won in 1986 and 1987 on neutral court in Bologna, each time against Vuelle Pesaro. In 1996, they won the Final Four in Assago, defeating Verona in the championship game. Their fifth victory would have to wait until 2016, again at the Forum, with an 82-76 victory against Avellino. Olimpia repeated the feat the following season in Rimini, beating Sassari 84-74 in the final. They won again in 2021 and 2022, first in Milan and then in Pesaro, against Pesaro (87-59) and Tortona (78-61) respectively. Overall, Olimpia is 108-47 in Italian Cup games, equal to a 69.7 percent win rate. Rolando Blackman (1996), Rakim Sanders (2016), Ricky Hickman (2017), Gigi Datome (2021), and Malcolm Delaney (2022) are the Olimpia players who have been Italian Cup MVPs.
