Olimpia moves to Scafati for the second road game of its regular season, after a very busy week, with two EuroLeague games, both of which ended badly for different reasons. If in Athens, Olimpia had clashed against a so-called super team, the home game against Zalgiris left a very bitter taste in the mouth for how the surreal epilogue canceled out a game that up until the 26th minute had been of excellent caliber. In addition to the morale to be rebuilt, there is the problem of the absence of Ousmane Diop which adds up to that of Josh Nebo. The result is that two of the three centers are not available, and the team is missing an Italian rotation player. Clearly, this could create space – behind David McCormack – for Guglielmo Caruso, who has been used more as a power forward but is currently needed as a center. On top of it, Zach LeDay left Milan with the team but will be game-time decision, because of light abductor strain. Olimpia needs a victory to eliminate the memory of the painful defeat suffered by Zalgiris and prepare for the new week which includes the home games against Efes Istanbul and Napoli right before a week with two more EuroLeague rounds. The calendar spin is now in full swing, and we need to adapt quickly, starting with this historically treacherous road game, against a team coached by Marcelo Nicola and with talented players such as Kruize Pinkins, Rob Gray, and a respected former Olimpia player such as Andrea Cinciarini. “We need to be better at containing the one on one against an offensively gifted team, with talented players and Andrea Cinciarini’s motor. But first order of merit is to regain mental and physical energy after a demanding week,” assistant coach Mario Fioretti said upon leaving for Scafati.
Tip-off time on Sunday, 20, is at 17:00.
GIVOVA SCAFATI OUTLOOK – Power forward Kruize Pinkins, now a Scafati veteran, has been one of the most productive players in Serie A so far, averaging 21.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, an extraordinary 66.7 percent on three-point shooting with four attempts per game. The majority of the scoring potential is distributed between him, guard Rob Gray and Elijah Stewart. Gray, who played at Houston University with Armoni Brooks, was the Eurocup finals’ MVP in 2022 with AS Monaco. He then played for several teams and found success especially at Besiktas in Türkey. In his first Italian experience, he is scoring 18.3 points per game. Stewart, a small forward, also played in Naples in the past but last year he was in Israel. He is averaging 14.7 points per game on 42.9 percent three-point shooting. The other two players of the Scafatese line-up are Andrea Cinciarini (6.7 points and 6.7 assists per game) and Paulius Sorokas, playing for his fourth Italian team (the others were Sassari, Varese and Treviso), 12.0 points per game up to now. The other players in the rotation are the shooter Alessandro Zanelli; UK center Daniel Akin; the Italian young winger Federico Miaschi (4.7 points per game); the Czech Vojtech Hruban, a veteran from Cholet, another power forward; the Italian center formerly in Varese Scott Ulaneo.
