© photo by Savino Paolella
After a season of 21 victories, 10 of which away, in which they hit the stated goal of returning to the playoff stage for the second consecutive year, still with the advantage of the home factor, Olimpia tries to jump the obstacle highest by clinching the second Final Four in a row by beating the reigning European Champions of Efes, a team that played the last two finals and won 66 out of 84 games in the previous three regular seasons. The level of difficulty of this series is very high, considering that, in its cycle of victories, Efes has kept its roster practically unchanged in addition to the technical guide of Ergin Ataman. Compared to the team that won the title in Cologne, the only player to leave was the center Sertac Sanli, replaced by Filip Petrusev, while Elijah Bryant was added during the current season to fortify a rotation of guards that has always been the lethal weapon of Efes (in two Micic and Larkin scoring 32.7 points per game). Olimpia have won the two previous seasons, even if the first is very far in time. Last month’s Istanbul was conquered by a comeback in the second half, but with an exceptional performance that offers the measure of what level of play must be expressed to beat Efes, the second team for points scored (83.1), third in the two-pointers and fifths in three-pointers, endowed with depth and experience. Olimpia had the best defense in the EuroLeague, conceding 72.0 points per game, second to defend on the three-pointer and third on the two-shot. Compared to the team that won in Istanbul, Gigi Datome is not present, but all the others are there. Olimpia comes from a period in which they played despite a second, dangerous wave of Covid, with all the uncertainties of the case. In all, he has won six of his last 10, overall he has been consistent throughout the season; the Efes record in the same arc of matches is identical (among the teams that will play the playoffs, the best were Olympiacos and Monaco with 8-2 and will compete against each other). The series is at its best of five games, with the first two in Milan. If necessary, Game 5 would be played in Milan on Wednesday 4 May. Since the playoffs have been played to the best of five games, 13 times it has been necessary to play it, but three series have gone to the fifth in the past season, a record.
NOTES – Race 1 will be played on Tuesday 19 April at 19:00. Click here for Race 1 tickets. Instead, click here for Race 1 and 2 mini-season tickets.
COACH ETTORE MESSINA– “It is the moment for which we have worked so hard, playing another wonderful regular season which we are highly satisfied with. Hitting the playoffs was our primary objective because we want to give continuity to our presence at these levels now and in the future. We face the European Champions with great respect, knowing that the two victories achieved during the regular season must not deceive us but at the same time must give us confidence, because there are probably things we do well and can help us try to win this first game. . Even if it’s a series, it will be important to mentally tackle one race at a time ”.
