Another short-rest Italian league game proved to be fatal for Olimpia. In Varese, it needed a field goal made in the end to prevail, but the last attempt – a legitimate one by Nico Mannion and a desperate prayer by Leandro Bolmaro – failed to find the bottom of the net. So, Varese won 94-92. Olimpia trailed for the vast majority of the game, fell behind by 16 at one point in the third quarter, when a 9-0 run gave the team a chance to come back. Struggling to find rhythm at both ends of the floor, Olimpia somehow reduced the margin to one on a superb corner three made by Armoni Brooks, who led the scorers tied with Zach LeDay’s 19 points (LeDay had also 14 rebounds). Olimpia rested Nikola Mirotic for this game along Fabien Causeur. Josh Nebo is still out with an injury. “To win these games, on short rest, coming off a road game on Friday, we need help from everybody. Unfortunately, from this perspective, we are struggling,” Coach Ettore Messina admitted. In the end five players scored in double digit and as a team Olimpia went 26-for-28 from the line and shot over 40 percent on threes, but it didn’t move the ball well (only 13 assists), shot under 45 percent on twos and never find a serious way to stop Varese’s high-pace style with some exceptions, early in the second half and late in the game. Not enough. “Our first half was poor – Coach Messina said – The second was better, when we returned to place Zach LeDay at the 5, surrounded by four perimeter players, but three consecutive ill-executed possessions cost us the chance to win a game that Varese deserved.”