The final game of the regular season brings Olimpia back to a special place: in Trento, in 2018, it won its 28th championship, the one symbolized by Andrew Goudelock’s MVP trophy. Trento is also special for Shavon Shields, who in that championship series—his breakout at the highest level—played for Aquila, as did Diego Flaccadori, for whom Trento is a second home. Finally, it’s special for Quinn Ellis, who in Trento became the player we see on the court today. It’s also a crucial game for the standings implications, likely more for the home team than for Olimpia. A win would allow Trento to catch and maybe overtake Varese (playing in Bologna) and secure a playoff spot, while a loss would automatically eliminate them. Olimpia is assured of at least the third place (Olimpia has a 2-0 head-to-head record vs Venezia so it cannot be overtaken) and has only a slim chance of finishing ahead of Brescia in second place. Germani has the same number of wins as Olimpia but a 2-0 record in head-to-head battles. A home win against already-relegated Sassari would ensure second place to Brescia. This leaves Olimpia with only one question: who it will face in the quarterfinals, starting on Saturday, May 16th—the first two games being played at the Unipol Forum—between Tortona and Reggio Emilia. Tortona has a one-win advantage but is penalized by head-to-head games, so they will only be able to defend fifth place by winning in Venezia or if Reggiana falls in Treviso. Olimpia will face the sixth-placed team. Meanwhile, the team has also been working in the gym all week, the entire roster available since Diego Flaccadori’s recovery, with the goal of being at the best for the playoffs, chasing the tenth road win of the regular season on the day of Nico Mannion’s 150th Serie A appearance.

Dolomiti Energia Trento-EA7 Emporio Armani Milano is going to be played on Sunday, May 10th at 17:00 in Trento.

COACH EMILIO KOVACIC – “Trento is a very talented team with many players, across all the positions, capable to score with consistency. They will approach the game with courage and determination to get the win and maybe clinch a playoff spot. So, we anticipate to meet a well prepared team that we could defeat only by playing with the same amount of effort, focused and sharpness that they will have.”

TRENTO OUTLOOK – Coached by Massimo Cancellieri, Trento is coming off a season in which they reached the Eurocup quarterfinals, narrowly missing out on the semifinals. The guards are DeVantè Jones and DJ Steward. Jones (11.6 points and 3.5 assists per game) in his first year in Italy has proven to be a quality guard without relying too much on three-pointers (34.4 percent on 2.4 attempts per game). Steward, making his European debut, has played at a very high level, averaging 14.6 points per game, 3.8 assists, and a 56.4 two-point shooting percentage, despite his poor three-point shooting percentage (28.8 percent). The third guard, who can also play small forward, is Khalif Battle (13.1 points per game on 34.9 percent three-point shooting, 88.2 percent from the free throw line), who is capable of some impressive scoring bursts. The other guards are the timeless Toto Forray (2.8 points per game), who is shooting 38.2 percent from three-point range, and Patrick Hassan (born in 2007), who is averaging 3.4 points per game and was a key player on the Italian national team that finished runner-up at the Under-17 World Championship two years ago. At small forward, another option is Andrej Jakimovski, a Macedonian with an Italian registration, who played in college at Washington State and Colorado, before returning to Italy at the beginning of the season. He is averaging 9.3 points per game and grabbing 4.8 rebounds a night. Power forward Peyton Aldridge, a Davidson product, spent one year in Cremona and then spent the rest of his career in Turkey before returning to Italy to play for Trento. He is averaging 8.3 points and grabbing 5.7 rebounds per game, but his main strength is his three-point shooting (40.4 percent). The alternative is Lithuanian Matas Jogela, averaging 9.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, shooting 58.9 percent from two. The centers are Jordan Bayehe (10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game), a Cameroonian international with an Italian registration too, who is having a career-best season (63.4 percent from two); and Selom Mawugbe, averaging 5.7 points and 5.3 rebounds, a vertical rim runner, a great shot blocker, and an offensive rebounder. Also joining the rotation is the very young Cheickh Niang (3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game), who can play both forward and forward positions.

TRENTO CONNECTION – Shavon Shields played 59 games over two seasons in Trento, scoring 769 points. Under his leadership, Trento reached the championship series twice, in 2018 against Olimpia. Diego Flaccadori played 235 Italian league games in Trento, in two different stints. Along with Shields, he reached two championship series (though he did not play in the 2018, against Milano). With Trento, he scored 2,133 points.. Quinn Ellis played 60 games, scoring 496 points over two years in the Italian league in Trento. Last year, still in Trento, he was the MVP of the Final Eight. Finally, Trento coach Massimo Cancellieri spent six years at Olimpia as an assistant coach to Luca Banchi, Jasmin Repesa, and Simone Pianigiani, winning three championships, two Italian Cups and three Supercups titles. Coach Peppe Poeta is a Trento former player who spent two seasons with Aquila.