Olimpia’s fifth road game in the Italian league is taking place up in the northeast, in Trieste, a city that, as is well known—but it should be emphasized even more in the season marking the 90th anniversary of the club’s founding—has played a crucial role in the club’s history. But on Sunday afternoon at the Pala Rubini—another name that links Trieste and Milan forever—there won’t be much time for sentimentality, because the game is important in itself. Olimpia has dropped three league games so far, all of them close calls, and now has a reduced margin for error to stay close to the league-leading teams. Olimpia is coming off two losses, partly due to absences, which have somewhat dampened the team’s positive momentum built over the previous two or three weeks. Consequently, the team is looking for a win that will restore momentum and morale ahead of the two EuroLeague road games next Wednesday (Maccabi in Belgrade) and the following week (in Vitoria). In between, the Italian league will give way to the national teams. Stefano Tonut, who is playing in his backyard in Trieste, has been called up from the Olimpia team. The opponent, however, is a tough one: Trieste, especially in its own fort, is traditionally a tough team to beat, with top-tier individual talents like guard Jahmi’us Ramsey, Markel Brown, Colbey Ross, and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Moreover, they’re improving, as demonstrated this week by achieving a prestigious BCL victory in Istanbul against Galatasaray.
Tip-off time in Trieste on Sunday, November, 22th, is 16:00PM.
COACH EMILIO KOVACIC – “”.
TRIESTE OUTLOOK – Trieste, coached by the Spaniard Israel Gonzalez, who previously coached Alba Berlin, is a talented and deep team, especially on the perimeter. Colbey Ross (11.5 points and 4.6 assists per game) is now a veteran of the Italian league, having been the league MVP when he was in Varese. He is a creative point guard who excels in one-on-one situations. His back-up is Michele Ruzzier (6.1 points per game on 40.0 percent three-point shooting), another experienced veteran, who plays with great competitive spirit and speed. Guard Jahmi’us Ramsey (19.4 points per game on 58.8 percent two-point and 42.6 percent three-point shooting) comes from Texas Tech, where he teamed with Davide Moretti, now his teammate again in Trieste. In his first European experience, he is displaying uncommon offensive skills. Moretti adds 6.4 points over 13.4 minutes on the court to the guards’ rotation. Markel Brown, in his second year in Trieste like Ross, has been a key player in Italy for years (Varese, Napoli). He’s a player with physicality, shooting, and intelligence. He’s averaging 11.1 points per game shooting 40.0 percent on threes, along with 3.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Juan Toscano-Anderson is a Mexican forward who has gained NBA experience in recent years, with Golden State, the Lakers, Utah, and Sacramento. He’s averaging 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Another player who was in Trieste last year is power forward Jarrod Uthoff (7.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game), a dangerous shooter (37.0 percent from three). Jeff Brooks has been rarely used as a backup to Uthoff so far, while Francesco Candussi (4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game) is a center who can shoot from the outside. At the center, the key player is Mady Sissoko, a 2.11mt tall player, from Mali, averaging 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and shooting 60.4 percent from the field.
THE TRIESTE CONNECTION – Stefano Tonut, although born in Cantù, is from Trieste. His father Alberto played for Trieste in the 1980s; Stefano made his debut in the second league in Trieste before moving to Venezia. Jeff Brooks, who played for Olimpia from 2018 to 2021, won the Super Cup twice and the Italian Cup once there, and also played in the 2021 Final Four, now plays in Trieste. Davide Moretti, who played for Olimpia in the 2020/21 season, also plays in Trieste.
