Olimpia moves to Paris today to play the “Paris European Games”: on Saturday 11 at 16:30 it will play against the home team, Paris Basketball, newly promoted to the French top league, and on Sunday 12 at 14:00, it will close the trip by facing ASVEL Villeurbanne, another EuroLeague team. These are the only two official pre-season games for Olimpia which will be involved in the Italian Super Cup tournament in Bologna during the next weekend. The games will be played in the Halle Carpentier in Bercy. Olimpia worked out in Milan during the week: Malcolm Delaney who has not yet been played during the scrimmages leading up to these games, will be available. Gigi Datome (left knee bruise will remain behind to go under treatment for a few days). Nicolò Melli and Sergio Rodriguez will make their official debut as co-captains.
PARIS BASKETBALL – The American-owned home team won the ProB league last year and then confirmed the core of that team with the addition of two Americans, the shooting guard Kyle Allman, coming from VEF Riga, but earlier in Greece with Lavrio, and above all the former NBA center, Kyle O’Quinn who last year was at Fenerbahce. Among the returning players stand out the scoring point guard Ryan Boatright, the guard Juhann Begarin, 19, fresh from playing in the NBA summer league with the Boston Celtics, who averaged 11.9 points per game in ProB, the forward Denis Gauthier, the experienced Amara Sy, the young 2.11 center Ismael Kamagate, and Dustin Sleva, a power forward who was instrumental in leading the team to win its league, last season.
ASVEL VILLEURBANNE – ASVEL will participate for the third consecutive season in the EuroLeague and features a team with several new faces, including point guard Chris Jones, from Maccabi, and Youssapha Fall, the 2.21 rim protector who last year was in Baskonia. From the Eurocup, in Ulm, came Dylan Ostetowski, a 17.0 points per game forward last year with an impressive 52 percent from three, and from Karsiyaka, the power forward Raymar Morgan (17.6 points per game in the BCL). Other additions were that of Kostas Antetokounmpo, the youngest of the three brothers, who was at the Lakers, Eddie Okobo, a French guard who has returned from three seasons in America, the last one in the G-League, and finally Victor Wembanyama, a 2.20 center, 17 years old, who has already debuted in the Eurocup, in Nanterre. Among the returning players, there are David Lighty, the bomber William Howard, and the French experts Antoine Diot and Charles Kahudi. Paul Lacombe will miss the game with an injury.
