With only seven games left to play, five of them on the road, in the EuroLeague regular season, Olimpia needs to hold its collective breath and try to grab wins wherever and whenever possible, even against logic, given that in Istanbul, Milano faces the defending champions, the league-leading team that won the battle held in Milan in December. The standings show that four teams, all those currently occupying the play-in spots, have a one-win advantage over Milano, while Dubai has the same record. Looking at the standings, the team is ready for a final push. However, the schedule is extremely complicated, considering that all the top three teams in the standings will be faced on opposing court. Compared to the Milan game, Fenerbahce is without Devon Hall and Nicolò Melli, who are injured, but they have added Nando De Colo among the guards and Chris Silva among the big men. Scottie Wilbekin, who was not available in Milan, is playing every now and then. Against Olympiacos, in the rescheduled game played on Tuesday, all these players were unavailable because they weren’t on the roster when the game was scheduled. The presence of Finnish player Mikael Jantunen, who also missed the last game, remains doubtful. Fenerbahce’s characteristics are well known: even though it lost in Piraeus, allowing over 100 points, Fenerbahce has the best defense in the competition. The numbers explain why: they allow 79.2 points per game (first), destroy opponents’ shooting percentages, 51.9 percent from two (first) and 31.0 percent from three (agains first). It’s a team that doesn’t score a lot (82.5 points per game; Olimpia scores 85.7 points a night), that plays at a slow pace but has plenty of weapons and can constantly change its outlook and is now riding the extraordinary hot streak performed by Talen Horton-Tucker, ten games over twenty points scored, a personal high of 30 against Olympiacos, an unreal for a guard 59.0 percent on twos, thus forming a lethal duo alongside Wade Baldwin. Olimpia will have to try to set its own tempo, using its three-point shooting (39.5 percent for the season, it is the second-best percentage in the EuroLeague and almost ten percentage points higher than Fenerbahce is allowing), defending to the best of its capabilities, knowing that the task is daunting. Fenerbahce is coming off two consecutive losses, but on the road; they’ve won their previous nine games and are the EuroLeague’s best team in games that are ending by close margins.

NOTES – Fenerbahce Istanbul-Olimpia Milano will be played on March 20, at 18:45 Italian time, in Istanbul.

THE REFEREES – Emilio Perez (Spain), Damir Javor (Croatia), Carlos Cortes (Spain)

COACH PEPPE POETA – “Fenerbahçe is not just the reigning champions, it’s also been the most consistent team in the EuroLeague so far and the one with the better identity. For us the key is to play with a lot of flow and try to never stop the ball against their switching defense, their huge physicality in order to keep our defensive balance throughout the game.”

FENERBAHCE OUTLOOK – Fenerbahce won nine consecutive EuroLeague games before falling to Red Star Belgrade in the previous round. They hold a commanding lead in the standings, despite the injuries that are currently keeping both Devon Hall and Nicolò Melli out of the roster, and limited Scottie Wilbekin to six appearances only (7.7 points per game on 44.0 percent three-point shooting). During this streak, they have shown an incredible ability to win close games: three points against Valencia, four points against Barcelona, ​​two points in Paris, two points in Athens (Panathinaikos), and three points against Partizan. Their key offensive guard is the veteran (this is his seventh season) Wade Baldwin IV, who in 25.2 minutes on the court produces 14.3 points and 5.6 assists per game. He’s a great mid-range shooter who can play as a scorer or a facilitator. To address injury concerns, Fenerbahce acquired Frenchman Nando De Colo from Asvel, filling the role that Errick McCollum had one year ago. De Colo is averaging 8.7 points per game with Fenerbahce, shooting 56.7 percent from two and 42.1 percent from three. He also remains the leading free throw shooter in EuroLeague history (95.2 percent in Istanbul, too). However, under normal circumstances, neither would be a starter for Fenerbahce: Coach Jasikevicius is rather using Devon Hall and Talen Horton-Tucker as starters. The latter, an NBA veteran, has adapted perfectly to the pace of European basketball. He has extraordinary physical strength for the position and is unstoppable one-on-one. In 23 minutes on the court, he averages 15.6 points and grabs 3.7 rebounds per game. He’s not a great three-point shooter (29.3 percent), but he’s converting 58.0 percent of his twos. If needed, veteran Melih Mahmutoglu and Latvian point guard Arturs Zagars can be added to the guard rotation. The starting small forward is Tarik Biberovic, averaging 10.5 points per game on 37.0 percent three-point shooting and 3.1 rebounds. Another possibility on the perimeter is Brandon Boston (4.4 points per game), who has great defensive skills. Another small forward, who can also play as power forward, is Bonzie Colson, who has great size for the position but stands out above all as a shooter: he averages 8.4 points per game on 50.7 percent two-point shooting and a sensational 52.7 percent on threes (and 94.9 percent from the line). Onuralp Bitim (2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds), who has also played in the NBA, is another option. The power forward is Finnish shooter Mikael Jantunen (5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game), who is converting 36.2 percent of his threes and is a classic “Stretch Four.” The second option—in Nik Melli’s absence—is Metecan Birsen. The starting center is Canadian Khem Birch (averaging 3.8 points and 4.0 rebounds, a 62.9 percent two-point shooting), a vertical player with strong offensive rebounding instincts. But Jasikevicius can also count on Armando Bacot (2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds) and Chris Silva, who was signed midseason (3.8 points per game), another top-notch athlete.

THE FENERBAHCE CONNECTION – Nicolò Melli, who had already played two seasons at Fenerbahce previously, returned to Istanbul in the summer of 2024 after three seasons and three Italian titles won with Olimpia Milano. With 180 appearances, Melli is the player with the most EuroLeague games played in Olimpia Milano’s history. Devon Hall played 93 games with Olimpia Milano in the EuroLeague, scoring 806 points over three seasons. In all his three seasons in Milano, Olimpia won the Italian league title. Both players will be sidelined due to injuries for this game. Marko Guduric played for Fenerbahce for seven years, winning the EuroLeague title in 2025. He has a total of 232 appearances and 2,317 points scored for the yellow and blues. Devin Booker spent two years with Fenerbahce between 2021 and 2023, with 60 appearances and 345 points scored. Nate Sestina played for Fenerbahce during the 2023/24 season appearing in 35 games and a Final Four berth.

GAME NOTES – During the last round, Shavon Shields became the third-leading rebounder in Olimpia EuroLeague history with 568, behind Nicolò Melli (786) and Kaleb Tarczewski (626). Zach LeDay is 13 points away from being the third-best “All-Time” scorer in the EuroLeague with Olimpia. The list is led by Shavon Shields ahead of Bob McAdoo (1,292) and Vlado Micov (1,232). LeDay is at 1,219 points scored. This season, he is sixth in three-point shooting with 46.9 percent. He is also seven rebounds shy of 1,000 for his career. Josh Nebo is fourth overall in two-point shooting with 74.1 percent. Armoni Brooks is second in three-point field goals with 84, three fewer than Bayern’s Andreas Obst. He has a streak of 22 games with at least one three-pointer made. Marko Guduric surpassed the 3,000-point career barrier against Maccabi.