Olimpia took a little time to start its engine, but eventually it was a superpower engine in a 79-74 win in Trento. The home team hit the ground running building an impressive 20-5 lead over the first eight minutes. By then, Coach Ettore Messina had already used its two first-half timeouts. Everything looked bad, since the fatigue was there and the missing players were in fact missing. But gradually Olimpia built its game. Over the second and third quarter the partial score was 43-30. But since finding itself behind by 15 and the middle of the third quarter Olimpia has a plus 26 run that turned the deficit into a 11-point lead. “Then we got tired and they came back but in the end, through an impressive effort, both mental and physical, we came out on top. It wasn’t easy,” Coach Messina pointed out.
Giordano Bortolani came off the bench to score 12 points, but he was the man that turned the game around with five straight points and one assist. He committed his second foul a early in the second period. But by then, Devon Hall had started his offensive game and gradually Shabazz Napier took over too. Olimpia finished the half behind by four. The start of the third quarter was impressive. Trento was held to two points over five minutes and the overall run was 17-2.
The home team came back late in the third and ignited a fistfight for the fourth quarter. Olimpia never trailed in the fourth, but the score was tied several times. A Bortolani three was erased by Quinn Ellis, then Voigtmann made a three. When the lead was three points, Napier took the game over. He made a huge three that meant the win. He made one free throw too. Olimpia finished the job. Napier had 17 points, Hall 15 and Bortolani 12.
“Napier took the game over in the fourth, we knew he is able to potentially make the crucial baskets, but tonight we liked what he did to set the tempo of the game. And Bortolani, I shouldn’t say this beacuse he is a young kid, but when you had +26 over 17 minutes on the court, that means you were doing great,” Coach Messina said.
