After allowing 46 points in the first half, Olimpia resumed its old defensive habits, held Tortona to 11 points in the third quarter and took possession of the game. Finally. it won 77-75 resisting the all-out assault launched by the opponent at the end. Tortona had the second-best home record in the league, 11-3, so it was a big win. Olimpia trailed by as many as six points but led by nine in the fourth quarter. In the crucial possessions, Shabazz Napier made a big block on Semaj Christon on a break, protecting the two-point lead. A few seconds later, he made his free throws. Billy Baron added two and Olimpia never gave Tortona a chance. “It was a team win because everybody at some point helped,” Coach Ettore Messina noted at the end. Billy Baron led all the scorers with 21 points over 23 minutes; Shabazz Napier finished with 15 points, five assists and six rebounds despite his uncharacteristic 0-for-6 three-point shooting night. Nick Melli was at his best, scoring 10 points, eight in a setting-the-tone first quarter and added 13 rebounds. But Paul Biligha (3-for-4), Gigi Datome with five points in a struggling second quarter, Stefano Tonut with a huge defensive game and a lot of energy gave a lot to the team who was missing Devon Hall, a last-minute scratch, and Kyle Hines who was rested. “In Tortona, it is always difficult, and we started the game soft defensively. It could have derailed our game because we are not that team, we have a solid defensive identity and when we don’t play defense adequately and allows 46 points in a half, we get nervous. In the second half we fixed our defense and we put the ball in the right hands. Napier and Baron made the clutch plays at the end, but everybody helped.” Olimpia improved its record to 22-7 and tied Bologna at the top of the league with tie-break in its favor. “We don’t try to do the math, we are in a position that we can finish first and would be great for us,” Coach Messina pointed out.