Olimpia came back from a 22-point deficit in the second half, tied the game, and earned a chance to take the lead. But after failing to go ahead for the first time since the initial period, Milan wan punished by a Jean Montero’s three-pointer that preserved Valencia win, 103-100. It was a tough game from the start: from midway through the first quarter onward, Olimpia was always chasing, scoring with reasonable consistency thanks to the speed of Quinn Ellis and an incredible Leandro Bolmaro, then in the second half with the jumers produced by Armoni Brooks, while playing plenty of smallball, even without a center on the floor. However, Olimpia struggled too much at the defensive end of the floor. Having coming back from a 17-point deficit (three times) to a six-point deficit at halftime, Olimpia was overwhelmed early in the third quarter when Valencia, spacing the floor well, hit seven consecutive three-pointers, without a single miss, destroying the game balance. With great heart and pride, Olimpia came back superbly and would have had a chance to win the game. They couldn’t get ahead because of a bit of bad luck, a few mistakes, and then, even after Montero’s triple, there was a chance to force overtime. Shields’ first attempt was blocked, Brooks’ second was hopeless. Leandro Bolmaro set his new career-high with 31 points and 37 of personal rating. He was all over the floor, he was a monster. Too bad, his game was rewarded with a win. Pippo Ricci continued his hot shooting: after going 5-for-5 from three in Kaunas, he made three out of four against Valencia. Armoni Brooks added 16 points over 18 minutes on the floor. He was scoreless in the first half, got on fire in the second. Quinn Ellis, who started the game dunking twice after baseline drives, finished with 10 points and six assists. “This is the first time we struggle so much defensively. They spaced the floor really well, we struggled against their guards, we struggled against their shooting bigs. We did better when we went small in the fourth quarter, even with Nate Sestina and Ricci at the same time. We showed the charcaterto come back twice from huge deficits but couldn’t finish the job. We played well offensively, but we should have started the game more mentally ready. The start of the third period was costly. They didn’t miss a shot but we didn’t do enough to keep them from scoring,” Coach Ettore Messina said.