For the third consecutive season, Olimpia will compete for an Italian league title in the championship series. It will be the 21st appearance in the club’s history and for the third straight year the semifinals finished on a high note, a 3-0 beating in Sassari. Game 3 was a gem. Olimpia fell behind a couple of minutes into the third period after a 6-0 run by Sassari after leading by as many as ten points in the first half. When Dinamo took the lead and energized the home crowd, Olimpia’s response was huge. Shavon Shields made two consecutive threes and Nik Melli dominated the boards, clog the middle defensively and made a huge three and a tip-in to cap a memorable third quarter. During the decisive run, Gigi Datome made two spectacular threes and Olimpia got away for good. The fourth quarter was dominated by another huge game built by Shabazz Napier. It was a collective effort, 93-61 triumph. “We showed a lot of poise and character, but it was also a quality effort. When they surpassed, we improved our defense and moved the ball even better offensively, so we shot well but it was a consequence of how we moved the ball,” Coach Messina said at the end.
Olimpia started the game well led by another hot start by Johannes Voigtmann. The lead was 13-4 early in the game but gradually Sassari came back. “We started well and then we resisted when they came back,” Messina said. Shavon Shields made a huge corner three at the end of the first half to regain five points of margin on his way to an 18-point very efficient game. Napier led the scorers with 21 points and five assists. Nicolò Melli barely missed a double double adding nine rebounds to his 13 clutch points. Even Billy Baron, who didn’t score at all, had six assists for the night.

“Making the championship series after such a tough season and for the third consecutive year was not a given. It is a great sign of consistency,” Messina said. It is going to be his seventh trip to the Italian league finals.