The sixth championship series between the two most successful teams in Italian basketball is also the fourth in a row. Olimpia has won two of the last three, won in 2023 with home court advantage, won in 2022 without it and lost in 2021 when it had it in its favor. So, the previous finals tell only part of the story. This season, home court advantage has always been respected between these two teams both in Italy and in the EuroLeague and in general, counting last season, we have 13 consecutive wins for the home team. Olimpia’s last win in Bologna dates back to the 2022/23 Italian League regular season. The last road win dates back to the same regular season when Virtus won in Milan. Over the last four years, they have faced each other 33 times before taking the court for Game 1 on Thursday: although the rosters have changed repeatedly, the level of mutual knowledge is very high. The two teams reached the final round in different ways: Virtus beat Tortona in five games and Venezia in four; Olimpia needed four games to eliminate Trento and three to defeat Brescia. But Virtus is 5-0 at home in the playoffs, 18-2 for the season, beaten only by Venezia and Pistoia in the regular season. Olimpia brings to the court a streak of six consecutive road wins. Both teams suffered injuries during the playoffs: Virtus beat Venezia without Iffe Lundberg; Olimpia played two games in Trento without Shavon Shields. As has happened before, in the playoffs Olimpia has increased pace and offensive production, going from 82.0 to 89.4 points per game, more than what Bologna averaged during the regular season. Game 1 tip-off time is 20:30 on Thursday 6th of June.

GAME 1 REFEREES – Roberto Begnis, Manuel Mazzoni, Guido Giovannetti.

COACH ETTORE MESSINA – “It is important to play a couple of very good games in Bologna since they have home court advantage. We know how tough it is to win there. It will be very important staying together when hard times will come, playing with defensive cohesion and to try to control the rebounds. So far, we have been improving game by game and that gave us come confidence entering into the series, but they are a confident team too, so the little things will make the difference.”

VIRTUS BOLOGNA OUTLOOK – Virtus Bologna approaches this series with home court advantage due to the point difference in the regular season games. The team coached by Luca Banchi has Marco Belinelli and Tornike Shengelia as its go-to guys, especially offensively. Belinelli is scoring 15.8 points per game on 47.5 percent three-point shooting in the playoffs. Shengelia is averaging 13.4 points per game but went 12-for-18 on two-pointers in the last two games of the series won against Reyer, while he didn’t play the first two games of the quarterfinals. The guards are Daniel Hackett, Alessandro Pajola and Iffe Lundberg. Hackett is a physical player (6.2 points and 3.6 assists per game), with great experience and leadership; Pajola averages 5.2 points and 3.9 assists but above all he is an established defensive ace; Lundberg did not play the series with Venezia due to an injury. For the season he is averaging 11.2 points per game on 43.1 percent three-point shooting. At small forward the first call is normally for Isaia Cordinier (9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds), who also plays at the off-guard spot and has notable physicality. In the playoffs, Awudu Abass was often decisive and in the last few games he also brought down a lot of rebounds (11 in Game 4 in Venezia). Ognjen Dobric and Rihards Lomasz can also be used at the three-spot. The centers are Bryant Dunston and Ante Zizic; Achille Polonara is backing-up Shengelia at power forward while Jordan Mickey can play multiple positions. Dunston, one of the centers who have made the history of the position in the last 10-12 years, like Kyle Hines, is averaging 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 59.6 percent two-point shooting. The Croatian Zizic is a great inside threat (8.4 points on 73.0 percent shooting), very fearsome as an offensive rebounder (1.6 on average). Mickey produces 10.0 points with 63.0 percent shooting from two, and 4.5 rebounds on average. Polonara is another solid rebounder (4.7 per game, 1.5 offensive) who doesn’t shoot much but normally shoots well (5.9 points on average, 67.1 percent from two). The point guard Bruno Mascolo completes the rotation of the small players when necessary.

VIRTUS CONNECTION – Giampaolo Ricci played for Virtus Bologna for two seasons, winning the 2021 scudetto as team’s Captain. Daniel Hackett played in Milan for two years, winning the 2014 championship. Awudu Abass played for two years in Milan, from 2017 to 2019, winning the 2018 championship and the Super Cup twice. Ettore Messina has coached the Virtus youth teams since the 1983/84 season when he was also Alberto Bucci’s assistant and as such won the championship by beating Olimpia in the final. He became head coach in the 1989/90 season and remained there up to and including the 1992/93 season, only to return in 1997 and remain there again until 2002. In these two periods he won the Euroleague twice (1998 and 2001), the Cup of the Cups’ winners once (1990), the Italian championship three times (1993, 1998 and 2001), the Italian Cup three times. Virtus Bologna head coach, Luca Banchi was Olimpia’s coach for two years, from 2013 to 2015, and he coached the team to the 2014 championship.

GAME 1 – This is the 11th finals that Olimpia play without home court advantage. In the previous 10 trips, it is 4-6. Olimpia won the championship in 1982 (Pesaro), 1989 (Livorno), 1996 (Fortitudo), 2022 (Virtus). In ’82 and ’22 it won the title after immediately winning Game 1 on the road. In ’89 and ’96 Olimpia lost Game 1. Overall, Olimpia is 10-11 in Game 1 of the final series. Olimpia is 9-1 in the championship series in which prevailed in Game 1 (exception: Milan-Caserta 2-3 in 1991). Conversely, it is 2-9 when it has lost it (exceptions in 1989 against Livorno and in 1996 against Fortitudo).

HOME COURT FACTOR – In the Armani era, Olimpia has played the championship round ten times, including the one that is about to begin, winning five out of nine. Four times home court factor was against, losing in 2009, 2010 and 2012 against Siena but winning in 2022 against Virtus Bologna.