Zach LeDay in Game 1, Kevin Punter in Game 2, Vladimir Lucic in Game 3 and Paul Zipser in Game 4 were the main men. In each game it was one different player in a series that has reached the decisive act. Olimpia won Game 1 coming from behind and Game 2 defending the margin; Bayern did the same in reverse order. Sergio Rodriguez (26 crucial points in Milan), Malcolm Delaney (a game-high 28 points in Game 4), Shavon Shields on one side were also protagonists; Wade Baldwin, DJ Seeley, Jalen Reynolds were big on the other side. And not just them. In terms of points, Olimpia has scored three more over four games, 320 to 317. While Bayern has won 11 times for a single possession of difference during the course of the season, Olimpia has been capable to take two wins against the same team by one or two points. Olimpia Milano-Bayern Munich will be the 39th game of the European season for both teams. The goal is to play game number 40. Tip-off is on Tuesday, 4 May at 20:45 pm, at the Mediolanum Forum. Olimpia returned to Milan on Saturday and started to prepare on the court Sunday morning.
COACH ETTORE MESSINA – “It’s Game 5 time and when you play a do-or-die game there’s not much left to say, we need only to go out there on the court and play the game, with top effort and decision. Nothing else.”
GIGI DATOME – “It’s been a beautiful and well-fought series, now we play Game 5 at home with confidence. Since day one we have worked every day and we have prepared every day to play a game of this magnitude, now it’s time go out there and play with great determination.”
THE REFEREES – Sreten Radovic (Serbia), Miguel Angel Perez (Spain), Gytis Vilius (Lithuania).
OTHER NOTES – This season, the EuroLeague playoffs recorded three of the top ten comebacks in history. Olimpia’s win in Game 1 from 19 points down was the second ever after the 21-point deficit overturned by Partizan against Maccabi in 2010. Real Madrid’s win from 16 and 15 points down against Efes are in fourth and eighth place ever. Bayern’s comeback from 13 points down in Game 4 against Milan is in eleventh place.
HISTORY LESSON – There are 12 previous games between those two teams and six of them date back to this season. Overall, the record is 7-5 in Olimpia favor. Milan is 5-1 at home and 2-4 in Munich. Two wins were conquered thanks to a last shot, Daniel Hackett made it in 2015/16, Zach LeDay in Game 1 of this series, but there was also another one-point win in last season’s regular season. The last field goal was a dunk by Kaleb Tarczewski off a Sergio Rodriguez’s alley-oop pass.
