Mario Fioretti
The last home match of the regular season is a clash at the top which will inevitably change the characteristics of the season finale. Germani Brescia arrives at the Forum and shares first place in the standings with Olimpia and Virtus Bologna. In the last round, Brescia will receive Brindisi and Olimpia will go to Cremona. The point difference in head-to-head matches (Brescia is currently plus eight) could prove irrelevant. Olimpia, winning by more than eight points, would mathematically be at least second; winning with eight or fewer points would then need to prevail in Cremona. By winning, the chances of a record would also remain alive, but only if in the meantime Virtus Bologna lost a match (they play in Tortona and end the season at home with Trento). In other words, it is a challenge that is very similar to an early start to the playoffs: it will be played on Sunday 28 April at 6.15pm at the Forum in Assago.
Olimpia gets there well in the sense that in the second round they were the best team in the championship, 11-2 on the scoresheet, but always plagued by heavy absences, despite which they were however able to win in Treviso and at home with Scafati. Nikola Mirotic and Maodo Lo are absent and Devon Hall is partially recovered (link). Brescia, fresh from the defeat in Cremona, should recover John Petrucelli who was absent from the field in the last few matches. Coach Alessandro Magro uses a relevant rotation of ten players, without the weight of a European season behind him, with a high level of familiarity in a compact nucleus. It is also possible that the two teams will soon find themselves in the playoffs, finishing in the same half of the table.
So does the assistant coach Mario Fioretti presents this comparison between the league leaders: “Brescia has been the most consistent team in this championship. In recent years we have always struggled to express ourselves at our best against them. We will have to be good at protecting the area against their physicality while maintaining the correct pressure against a top-level external package. In attack, it will be essential to have the clarity necessary to play effectively against one of the most aggressive and at the same time tactical defenses in the championship”. THE REFEREES – Saverio Lanzarini, Guido Giovannetti, Sergio Noce.
Previous – In history, Milan and Brescia have met 45 times with 34 successes for Milan and 11 for Brescia. Olimpia is 19-2 at home and 13-8 away. The balance includes the semi-final of the 2018 Super Cup which was played in Brescia but should be considered a neutral venue, the result being 81-59 in favor of Olimpia; the 2022 Coppa Italia semi-final won again by Olimpia in Pesaro with a score of 69-63 (22 points from Sergio Rodriguez); and the quarter-final of the 2023 Italian Cup won by Brescia in Turin 75-72. The teams have faced each other twice in the championship playoffs. In 1981/82, quarter-finals, the then Cidneo came from the A2 championship. Billy won 2-1 in their quest for the championship but still lost in Brescia, 78-71. In 2018, Olimpia eliminated Brescia in the Scudetto semi-final by winning 3-1 with two away successes with 24 points from Mindaugas Kuzminskas in Game 4. Brescia’s only victory was in Game 1 in Milan (85-82).
