The first step was the right one. Olimpia won its playoffs debut over Pistoia 73-59 after a slow game, with a lot of fouls and more free throws. Pistoia took advantage of it by going to the line 35 times and scoring from there 30 points. Still, Olimpia led the game almost wire-to-wire. A Nicolò Melli’s three with a little more than two minutes to go sailed the win extending the lead to 10 points. Melli was the best player on the court, both offensively and defensively, Samardo Samuels did his job inside and every now and then more guys step up, like Daniel Hackett forcing his way to the rim, Keith Langford with some great plays, Kristjan Kangur rebounding the ball. CJ Wallace also had a solid game to go along Alessandro Gentile’s passing game and Bruno Cerella fighting spirit.