A week away. Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari continues its journey: from Izmir, Turkey, where on Wednesday it played the fourth match of the Second Round of the FIBA Europe Cup, directly to Trieste, the scene of Saturday’s match (8pm), valid for the 17th matchday of the Serie A Unipol.
With Buie and Johnson recovering, coach Veljko Mrsic’s team will try to find success again to cancel the last two stops against Reggio Emilia and Napoli. On the other side there will be an opponent galvanized by Tuesday’s European coup away to Gran Canaria in the Round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League, and also fresh from the rest period in the championship dictated by the exclusion of Trapani from the championship.
THE OPPONENT – A team on the rise, Pallacanestro Trieste has set the new course on a fast, dynamic and spectacular style of play. At the helm is the Spanish coach Israel Gonzalez, who grew up at the school of Aito García Reneses and has long been a protagonist in the Euroleague with Alba Berlin. The red and white roster is deep and full of talent in all departments, structured to withstand the double commitment between the championship and the Basketball Champions League.
The best scorer is the American guard Jahmi’us Ramsey, a product of Texas Tech and with a past with the Sacramento Kings, who averages 18.9 points with 42% from the arc. Under the basket the athleticism and energy of the Malian Mady Sissoko stand out (10.7 points and 7.5 rebounds on average), while on the perimeter Colbey Ross and Markel Brown guarantee points, leadership and balance, both averaging over 11. Also worth keeping an eye on is the ability to widen the field of the atypical “4” Jarrod Uthoff. To complete the picture, a solid battery of Italians led by Davide Moretti and Michele Ruzzier, with Francesco Candussi, Lodovico Deangeli and the former Jeff Brooks ready to give weight and experience to the rotations.
In recent weeks, Gonzalez has had to deal with the absences of two important key players such as Ross and Sissoko, while in Las Palmas Moretti also remained on the bench for the full 40 minutes.
Trieste currently occupies 6th place in the rankings with a tied balance sheet: 7 wins and 7 defeats. At the end of the first round they also secured qualification for the Final Eight of the Italian Cup, where they will be called to face Olimpia Milano in the quarter-finals.
THE GAME – At the PalaSerradimigni, last December 6th, Dinamo won with a score of 85-80. After a great white and blue start (30-17 first quarter score), the Giulians tried to come back, but the Banco was able to defend its spoils until the final siren. The 23 points from Carlos Marshall (4/6 from the arc), the 17 from Johnson and the 14 each from Buie and McGlynn were decisive. For Trieste, the best scorer was Ramsey (22 points).
THE PRECEDENTS – This will be the 14th match between the teams: Dinamo is ahead in the overall score by 7-6.
L’EX – Jeff Brooks was one of the protagonists of the Sassari ‘treble’ in the 2014/15 season, winning the Super Cup, Italian Cup and Scudetto. In that year he averaged 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds. Mauro Sartori, sporting director of Dinamo, was a Trieste player from 1987 to 1992.
THE STATEMENTS – Coach Veljko Mrsic: “Each match is a story in itself and the one against Trieste represents another opportunity to continue to improve our game. Trieste plays very well at home and, like us, is living with some injury problems. We will see in what condition we will be after a week also marked by European commitments, both for us and for them.
To put them in difficulty we will have to have greater continuity and consistency compared to the last few games. It will be essential to play well in defense, limit their quick play and not allow solutions in the first 8-9 seconds of the action. We have our opportunities to win, but, as we always say, to do it away we will have to be almost perfect. The objective is to try to bring home the two points.”
Marco Ceron: “We come from a difficult period, with negative results and also a bit of bad luck, because we were never able to be at our full strength due to injuries. On Wednesday, however, we played a good match, playing until the end on a difficult pitch, even if, as happened in the last few matches, we weren’t able to bring it home. Confidence comes from winning and we are working to get back to winning ways at all costs.
The match against Trieste, which will be very tough: they have a very high level roster and play at a very high pace, especially at home. We will have to try to slow down the pace, because at the moment, with a somewhat short roster, we cannot afford to play at their speed. If we manage to impose our pace, we can put them in difficulty. They also have some injury problems and are facing several absences. It will be a real sporting battle and we will do everything to return to victory after these latest outings.”
THE REFEREES – Giulio Pepponi, Tolga Sahin, Giacomo Dori.
WHERE TO SEE IT – The race will be visible in live streaming on LBA TV. Live updates during “Quelli che la Dinamo” on Dinamo TV.
Sassari, 23 January 2026
Communications Office
Dinamo Banco di Sardegna
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