Game 1 of the Italian league quarterfinals series was affected deeply by the first quarter and the early offensive explosion produced by Olimpia with both units. The first unit took the first lead, seven and nine points with Shavon Shields setting the tone, and the second one extended the margin with Guduric, Bolmaro and Diop all of them very effective. After building a 22-point second quarter lead, Olimpia responded every time Reggio Emilia attempted a comeback. From the early part of the game to the end, the margin was never below the nine-point barrier. Olimpia won 96-84 and now leads the best-of-five series 1-0. Game 2 is on Monday in Milano again. “We started well especially offensively, we moved the ball, we shared it, we created a lot of open shots and that gave us a lot of confidence. We weren’t perfect, we allowed too many offensive rebounds, that’s something we’ll need to improve in Game 2, because they a solid, consistent and tough team,” Coach Peppe Poeta said.
Olimpia shot 25-for-34 on twos, 14-for-18 in a devastating first half, closed the half at 57, up by 17 points. Reggio Emilia was able to be efficient under the offensive board in the third quarter especially while Olimpia became ice-cold from the perimeter. After making six threes in the first half, didn’t make any in the second. That explains why it scored only 39 points in the second half.
Shavon Shields, who became the 10th-best scorer in playoffs history, had a team-high 19 points, 15 were scored in the first half. Five players scored in double figure. Josh Nebo was very close to a double double with nine points and 10 rebounds. But a great job was performed by Ousmane Diop who had 13 great minutes. He scored 14 points, going 8-for-8 from the line. “The second unit was great but I never considered it a second unit. In fact, the closing line-up had Bolmaro first and Guduric later. The so-called second unit gave us a lot,” Poeta added. In the end, it produced 48 points.
Reggio Emilia however never gave up. “They are a confident team, they play together, they are tough,” Poeta remarked. Jaylen Barford and Troy Caupain combined for 41 points. Jaime Echenique was a factor inside in the third quarter. He grabbed four offensive rebounds. “We will need to approach Game 2 with the same kind of physicality they will have. Against this team playing one game at a time is not enough, you have to play hard every single possession,” Poeta finished.
