Olimpia’s new EuroLeague season will begin on October 6, in Istanbul against Fenerbahce. This is the 10th time in the EuroLeague era that Milan will start the regular season on the road: in the previous nine, the record is 4-5, but Olimpia won both in 2020 in Munich and in 2022 in Villeurbanne. In 2014/15 it made the debut on the Fenerbahce court. The difficulty level is of course way over the top. Olimpia is 9-8 in its European debut, having won four of its last five “opening nights” and six of the last eight. Curiously against Fenerbahce Olimpia will bring on a streak of three consecutive wins in Istanbul that balanced the three consecutive defeats in Milan. It will be a special game for Nicolò Melli, who spent two seasons at Fenerbahce, the first time instead without Gigi Datome on the court. Olimpia has met Fenerbahce 26 times in its history, 11-15 the all-time record, 6-7 in Istanbul. The EuroLeague will comprise 18 teams, the same as last season, after Gran Canaria, which having won the Eurocup had the right to participate, renounced.
THE FIRST HALF – The schedule is very tough at the start, balanced in terms of home and road games, but the coefficient of difficulty is presumably high in the beginning. After the road game in Istanbul, Olimpia will be visited by Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team Olimpia faced for the first time during the 1972/73 season (18-18 historically, 12-5 in Milan). The first double round, round 3 and 4, will bring the European runner-up of Olympiacos Piraeus to Milan (9-18, the all-time record), without the reigning MVP Sasha Vezenkov (he went to the NBA, in Sacramento), and a tough challenge with the reigning European champions of Real Madrid led by Sergio Rodriguez (9-25 all-time against the Blancos). Olimpia will play three road games in a row during the first half of the season, including the Munich-Belgrade double round, and then three consecutive home games over the Christmas period: on December 20 against Asvel Villeurbanne (9-4), on the 22nd against Panathinaikos Athens (10-16) and on the 28th against Baskonia (12-11). In all, Olimpia will play nine home games and eight road games during the first half of the regular season.
THE SECOND HALF – The month of January will begin with two consecutive double rounds, four over two weeks’ time: Olympiacos on the road, Bayern at home (11-6 the all-time record, 8-1 in Milan); Alba Berlin and Red Star both at the Mediolanum Forum. Then comes a very demanding double round, with road games in Athens-Panathinaikos and Istanbul-Efes. The last double round, contrary to the last two seasons, won’t be entirely played on the road. Olimpia will go to Montecarlo to face AS Monaco but will then receive a visit from Fenerbahce. The last home game will be against Bologna, the last overall will be played in Tel Aviv.
THE TOP GAMES – Thursday 8 February, round 26. It’s the night Real Madrid will arrive in Milan with Sergio Rodriguez at the helm. The two Italian games against Bologna will take place on the road first (Tuesday 14 November) and then in Milan (Friday 5 April). Efes Istanbul (14-25 is the all-time record), which won two EuroLeague championships in 2021 and 2022, will be in Milan on Thursday, November 16, without Vasa Micic, the former MVP who went on to play in Oklahoma City in the NBA. Ergin Ataman’s Panathinaikos will come to Milan on Friday 22 December. Barcelona will be in Milan on Friday 26 January (12-15 is the all-time record). On March 8 there will be the big home game versus Partizan Belgrade which means not only many familiar faces on the court but also the duel between the two coaches with the most games coached and won in the EuroLeague history, Ettore Messina and Zeljko Obradovic.
