Olimpia kept its winning streak going in the Italian League (7-0) with a 93-86 win in Cremona. It was an unusual game because Olimpia relied mostly on its offense to prevail. Vanoli was able to score 45 first-half points and came back from 16 points behind to one in the fourth period. Basically, Olimpia had to win the game twice. “We managed to score a lot of points and we won while our defense was at its usual self for probably not more than one quarter, so we are happy about the win. Cremona is very athletic and is a team with a lot of scoring potential,” Coach Ettore Messina said. Nicolò Melli led all the scorers with 20 points over 25 minutes, Sergio Rodriguez added 17 and seven assists. Five players scored in double figure, including Devon Hall (15), Dinos Mitoglou (14) and Kaleb Tarczewski (11).

Olimpia approached the game correctly, pounded the ball inside and the two starting bigs, Melli and Tarczewski, combined for all the first 14 points scored by the team. But Cremona never let itself down, found a way to take the lead early in the second quarter and to close the first half tied at 45. The third quarter was when Olimpia took control. A 7-0 run that included a three-point play by Tarczewski (he and Melli combined also for seven dunks in the game) opened the second half. A huge buzzer-beating three by Mitoglou close the third quarter with a commanding 16-point lead, 73-57. That was when Coach Messina saw Olimpia’s defense at work. The fourth quarter was again a struggle. Cremona hit three threes, had a 16-4 run, and closed the margin to two and even to one late in the game. Finally, Olimpia scored on four straight possessions: Hall with a mid-range step back jumper, Mitoglou converted a point-blank lay-up, Melli completed a three-point play that extended the lead to six points again. Since Cremona scored again on the ensuing offense, the fifth Rodriguez’s three of the night was essential to close the game for good.