It was tough battle in Varese, but Olimpia prevailed 82-79 in the end. “Our experienced guys gave us a lift, defensively and with their offensive reading, I expected a tough game for many reasons, and it was. This is why I’m glad with the win,” Coach Ettore Messina said. Varese played a physical game, full of energy following Alessandro Gentile’s leadership. He scored 13 points in the first nine minutes, made four threes for the game, and set the tone. Olimpia didn’t have the necessary consistency to keep control of the game when it could. Early in the third, built a 10-point lead several times, then let Varese come back. While Gentile’s second half was not comparable to his dominant first, John Egubnu showed a lot of energy and effort while Varese hot shooting threes kept the game up for grabs. Late in the fourth, Olimpia’s defense step up. Melli and Ricci made the free throws to extend the lead to six, but Gentile with his fourth three reduced the lead one more time before succumbing. “We were coming off a Friday night tough game in Vitoria, they were coming off a bad second half in Bologna and I expected a strong reaction, they also recovered their point-guard, so the conditions were leading to a difficult game,” Coach Messina commented. Nicolò Melli was his dominant self, with 14 points, nine rebounds and an impressive +20 of plus/minus, Devon Hall made his first six shots and finished with a team-high 16 points in spite of experiencing foul troubles early in the game, Sergio Rodriguez gave the team a big lift off the bench, dishing out seven assists for the day. Finally, Ricci and Shields scored some crucial points overcoming somehow mediocre shooting percentages. Olimpia improved to 3-0 in the Italian league, after the win.