The two-time defending champions of Olimpia Milan are approaching a new start. The first practice of the new season is scheduled for Monday 28 August, although several players will be missing, given that five team members are busy with the World Cup and obviously they won’t be available until the official debut, in the Super Cup tournament, on September 23, in Brescia, against Virtus Bologna. Olimpia will get to that game with four exhibition games and a scrimmage under its belt. The first game will be Wednesday 6 September in Vigevano against Tortona, followed by two games in Cagliari (the first against ASVEL Villeurbanne), and the highlight of the preseason in Athens to pay homage to Vassilis Spanoulis and face Olympiacos (with the addition of a scrimmage behind closed doors). It was not possible to do more without Nicolò Melli, Pippo Ricci, Stefano Tonut, Maodo Lo and Johannes Voigtmann, as well as Billy Baron who returned to Milan after his off-season elbow surgery but is not available as of now. The team that will resume practicing under Coach Ettore Messina’s leadership – who in his fifth season in Milan is also the longest-tenured coach in the EuroLeague – will already count on newcomers Giordano Bortolani, Guglielmo Caruso, Diego Flaccadori, Ismael Kamagate, Nikola Mirotic, Alex Poythress. They will be joined during the preseason by youngsters Francesco Gravaghi, Samuele Miccoli, Denis Badalau, Francesco Marcucci and the youngest of them all, Diego Garavaglia, coming off the European Under 16 silver medal. Olimpia will add for the preseason also the center Ike Udanoh, a veteran of the Italian league who has played in Strasbourg over the last two seasons, and the Greek guard Vassilis Mouratos, last year at Promitheas in the Eurocup. Peppe Poeta, who is busy with the national team, won’t participate to practices too, but there will be the debut of the new coaching staff member, Milan Tomic.