Here comes Bayern, Messina: “We need a proud game and crowd support”

Affected by a decimated roster right when the schedule is at its busiest (the second game of the week will be played against Bayern but there will be two more games during the next one), Olimpia is called to a test of extreme pride to try to overcome Bayern Munich, exactly as they managed to overcome Baskonia last week. In emergencies, the team has always produced generous efforts, trying to find resources where possible to compensate for the shortage of scorers (Shavon Shields and Nikola Mirotic together are worth around 35 points and over five threes per game) or shooters in general (Maodo Lo , Billy Baron). Against Baskonia, the Melli-Voigtmann duo, with the Captain swinging between the small forward and center positions in these days, had scored the 40 points needed to secure the win; in Piraeus, where Olimpia tied the game up entering the homestretch, Flaccadori, Tonut and Bortolani, 38 points combined, gave the team the chance to win a prohibitive game. Such performances will still be needed to defeat Bayern, who left its physical problems behind by recovering all the players who had physical problems (Bolmaro, Obst and Lucic were all missing in the game played in Germany in December). The team coached by Pablo Laso is coming off a tough battle in Bologna, where they led for 35 minutes only to succumb in the final possessions. The two teams therefore left some regrets on the court at the end the first round of the week. Olimpia would also like to take revenge thinking back to the Munich game, where they lost in overtime a battle they had virtually won and Bayern stole with a huge three-pointer made by Serge Ibaka, to force the extra time. The list of missing players presents nothing new. They will be the same as in Athens, although Pippo Ricci, who was on the bench in Greece but not available, could be used this time. Tip off time in Forum will be 20:30, on Friday, January 5th.

THE REFEREES – Emin Mogulkoc (Turkey), Tomislav Hordov (Croatia), Carlos Cortes (Spain)

COACH ETTORE MESSINA – "Bayern is a physical, athletic team, with excellent shooters and very strong rebounders. We remain in an emergency so, as already happened against Baskonia, we are also counting on the crowd support. The guys are giving everything to overcome the difficulties of the moment, the tiredness. They are playing with great heart and they once again deserve the support from our people that has never been lacking this year. We need another proud and careful performance, while we patiently wait for the injured to recover and finally come back."

BAYERN MUNICH OUTLOOK – Should everybody be available, the lineup most implemented by Coach Pablo Laso includes Leandro Bolmaro and Carsen Edwards as guards, Isaac Bonga as small forward, Serge Ibaka and Devin Booker are the two big men. Bolmaro, an Argentinian from the Barcelona academy who returned to Europe from the NBA, is scoring 9.8 points per game with 3.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds, shooting 61.2 percent from two-point territory. Edwards, who was crucial in the first game, is a small but explosive guard, who is averaging 11.3 points per game. Bonga, another former NBA player and World Champion with Germany, is a multipurpose player who averages 8.5 points per game shooting 57.9 percent on twos and grabs 5.6 rebounds per game. Ibaka, originally from Real Madrid, who has had a great NBA career behind him especially in Oklahoma City, is scoring 12.3 points per game, grabbing 6.9 rebounds in 24.1 minutes on the court, and is shooting 59.6 percent on twos and 40.7 percent on threes. Booker, the only one who started every game, averages 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Off the bench are Sylvain Francisco (10.2 points and 3.3 assists on average), Nick Weiler-Babb, one of the team’s veterans, 6.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, Niels Giffey (3.4 points per game), the shooter Andreas Obst (7.9 points per game), Elias Harris, Danko Brankovic, Dino Radoncic. To these must be added Vladimir Lucic who returned three games ago from a long absence (as of now he averages 5.3 points and 2.0 assists per game).

HISTORY VS BAYERN – The two teams faced each other 18 times, seven of them during the 2020/21 season when they squared off in the playoffs. The overall record is 11-7 in Olimpia’s favor, 8-1 in Milan and 3-6 in Munich. Olimpia won both games during the 2014/15 season and lost both times during the 2018/19 season. In the 2019/20 season, Olimpia won in Milan 79-78 coming back from 13 points behind in the fourth quarter and 20 points down in the second half. Vlado Micov scored 16 points. In 2020/21 season, Olimpia won in Munich 81-78 after an overtime with a Shavon Shields’ three with nine seconds left. Kyle Hines had 16 points and went 5-for-5 from the field. In the memorable 2021 playoff series, Olimpia won Game 1, 79-78, coming back from a 19-point deficit. The winning basket was scored by Zach LeDay who converted an alley-oop pass from out of bound by Malcolm Delaney. After winning Game 2, 80-69, and losing Game 3 85-79, Olimpia lost 85-82 Game 4 when it was its turn to give up a lead in the closing seconds. Game 5 was one for the ages. Shavon Shields had a 34-point career night, Olimpia dominated before attending the furious Bayern rally in the closing seconds that was stopped by the iconic Kyle Hines block over Wade Baldwin. Last season, Olimpia prevailed in Munich 83-81 thanks to a corner three-pointer made by Billy Baron. Nicolò Melli had 17 points and 29 of index rating. Eight of the 16 games played between these two teams have ended within a 3-point margin, while the Munich game this season finished 91-84 for Bayern but after an overtime forced by a Serge Ibaka’s three with 0.5 seconds left in the regulation.

THE BAYERN CONNECTION – Diego Flaccadori played 44 EuroLeague games with Bayern from 2019 and 2021. Maodo Lo spent two seasons in Bayern from 2018 to 2020 winning the German championship in 2019. Lo played 57 EuroLeague games for Bayern with 344 points scored. He and Johannes Voigtmann were part of the German National Team that won the World title along Isaac Bonga, Niels Giffey and Andreas Obst.

DIEGO FLACCADORI NOTES – Over the first 13 games of this regular season, he scored 34 points, dished 7 assists and shot 10-for-29 from the field. During the last five, he has scored 58 points, with 15 assists and 21-for-40 shooting (plus 12-for-14 from the foul line). Flaccadori has an active streak of three games in double figures, four of the last five.

NICOLO’ MELLI NOTES – Nicolò Melli has just passed Georgios Printezis and is sitting in 4th place all-time for defensive rebounds grabbed in the EuroLeague. He is 18 defensive rebounds shy of the 3rd place that belongs to Felipe Reyes (1.094).

NICOLO’ MELLI NOTES 2 – The 21 points scored against Baskonia are his career-high in the EuroLeague for Olimpia. The previous high was 20 and dates back to the home game against Zalgiris in the 2013/14 season. His all-time record is 28 points. It was the eighth game that he scored 20 or more points in his career. In these games his team’s record is 6-2.

GIORDANO BORTOLANI NOTES – The game in Piraeus (11 points, three threes) was the first in double figures for Giordano Bortolani during his EuroLeague career.

JO VOIGTMANN NOTES – Johannes Voigtmann is the third Olimpia player to win the Round’s MVP award this season. Shavon Shields received it after the home game against Asvel and Maodo Lo after the road game against Red Star. Voigtmann had a 29 rating in the win over Baskonia. This is the thirteenth time overall that an Olimpia player has been MVP of the round. Before Voigtmann there were Mike Hall, Omar Cook, Curtis Jerrells, Alessandro Gentile, Samardo Samuels, Jamel McLean, Ricky Hickman, Mike James, Nicolò Melli, Brandon Davies and indeed Shields and Lo.