Olimpia and Reyer faced each other one time during the season. It dates back to the first part of the regular season but it was played at the Forum and the teams were very different from what they are now. Reyer did not yet have Heidegger and Kabengele, and Marco Spissu was injured and not available; Olimpia had not yet call Shabazz Napier back and Kyle Hines had not been used in the Italian league yet. The game ended with a clear win for Olimpia but it is pointless. The two teams are sharing the same position in the standings and boasts obviously the same record. It is more relevant hat Olimpia has won the last seven games played in Italy (six in the league) or 10 out of 11. But Reyer is a deep, physical and very fearsome team. If Coach Ettore Messina has just reached Alberto Bucci in terms of number of career wins in the Italian Cup, his opponent of tomorrow, Neven Spahija has had 11 EuroLeague seasons and NBA experience as an assistant in Atlanta to showcase. Even the coaching duel is of the highest level, perfectly suitable for a semi-final of the Italian Cup, the twenty-first in the history of Olimpia which has won this trophy eight times. Tip off time will be at 18:00 in Turin, in a sold-out arena.

Olimpia is entering this game after a big win over Trento in the quarterfinals. Defense, rebounding and transition offense were the key. Margin of improvement offensively is huge since the team went 6-for-24 from three-point territory. Venezia will miss Jordan Parks and is now used to play with three guards and a very deep big man rotation. Rayjon Tucker is making strides in his first season in Italy after appearing 50 times over two seasons in the NBA. He is averaging 15.5 points per game, he is athletic, strong and can shoot (41.8 percent from three). Max Heidegger, Marco Spissu and Andrea De Nicolao are sharing the duty as point men and occasionally shooting guard. Heidegger is averaging 10.2 points per game, Spissu is the National Team point man and De Nicolao is a veteran who can dish the ball and apply terrific ball pressure. Davide Casarin is an athletic emerging player who can play multiple positions while Alex O’Connell is completing the rotation. Among the bigs, Kyle Wiltjer is a terrific stretch four, who is averaging 12.2 points per game and is shooting 37.1 percent on more than five three-point attempts; Aamir Simms normally starts at the 4, is a physical player who can play two positions; Mfiondu Kabengele is ultra-athletic, can block shots and has immediately established himself as one of the rebounder in the league (7.3 per game in less than 17 minutes of playing time); Amedeo Tessitori is a pure center who can score inside (10.2 points per game). Jeff Brooks, who spent three seasons in Milan, is extending the rotation and is a very efficient defensive player and shooter.

The game is special for Stefano Tonut who used to play for Reyer, spent seven seasons there and is considered a former franchise player. He’s won two Italian league championships and one Italian Cup with Reyer. In 2020 when the two teams played each other in Pesaro at the same stage, Tonut was playing for Venezia. And again he was on that side of the fence in 2021 when Olimpia took revenge and won against Reyer on its way to winning the Cup. Olimpia’s played Reyer in the Italian league playoffs four times, winning all the series, 3-0 in 2012; 4-2 in 2016; 3-0 in 2021. They faced each other also in a Supercup championship game in 2017 and again Olimpia won. Strangely, they never met in an Italian league finals or Italian Cup final, despite they combined to win six of the last seven championships awarded.