Four years later, Olimpia Milan will play a new Italian Cup final, after prevailing 96-65 over Venezia. It was an impressive win. Olimpia started a little nervous and went down by 12 points. From that point, it took control at both ends of the floor and never looked back. In the second quarter, Olimpia took the lead for the first time, in the third broke the game down in pieces. It was a 30-11 total show, led by Sergio Rodriguez, who scored 22 points and added nine assists, and Kyle Hines, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Rodriguez started the game in attack mode to get the team over the hump offensively, then he started to hit teammates, right and left. His third quarter was a masterpiece. He made a couple of huge threes, he made a driving lay-up, then he had a backcourt steal that was converted into an easy lay-up. Hines himself took over offensively early in the game, then he made also a couple of huge mid-range jumpers. Defensively, he was everywhere. His foul trouble in the first half could have been a potential setback, but Paul Biligha spelled him big time.

Olimpia finished the game shooting 62 percent from two-point range, made 11 threes, had 22 assists, and won the rebounding battle 35 to 27. “We have beaten a very good team, a team who just had a terrific quarterfinal game. We started a little bit insecure, nervous, strangely enough, considering our experience level – Coach Ettore Messina said -, but when the offense step up a notch, led by Rodriguez and Hines, who had an impressive outing, and I don’t want to diminish any other player’s game, we were really brilliant. I hope our defense will carry us over in the last game too.”