Olimpia stashed its first EuroLeague win of the season behind it, enjoed the enthusiasm create by Devon Hall’s clutch jump shot and the performances of its three semi-rookies (RJ Cole scored 12 points, Jason Burnell had 10 rebounds, and Garrison Mathews showed his competitive spirit), and flew to Vitoria. In the Basque county, Olimpia will face a team that lost its first two games but has added Marcio Santos to its roster, boasts several talented guards, and the consistency of veterans like Tadas Sedekerskis and Kenneth Faried. Baskonia has averaged 88.5 points in its first two games and is number one in assists, a clear sign that they’re very dangerous when running, but they’ve been let down by its 30.6 percent three-point shooting, an unusual figure for a team with so many shooters and therefore a threat. Olimpia needs to find fluidity and the ability to extend the good minutes shown in the first two games and especially in the first half and during the closing minutes of the game won against Virtus Bologna.
COACH PEPPE POETA – “We know we’re going into a tough game against a team that’s looking to bounce back from their last defeat, so they’ll be aggressive and determined. They can count on individual talent and a remarkable ability to run the floor. Vitoria is a historically tough arena where we continue to continue our growth process by building over our last win.”
ALEC PETERS – “Our first EuroLeague win was exciting and we need to carry it over. We’ve shown a lot of good things in our first two games, and we need to expand on that. Friday’s game in Vitoria is a good opportunity to do more and better against a Baskonia team that is a tough team on its home court. It’s important for us to build on what we do well and carry that momentum from our first win to this road game.”
GLI ARBITRI – Emin Mogulkoc, Milivoje Jovcic, Stefan Calic
NOTES – Saski Baskonia-Olimpia Milano is going to be played on Friday, October 2nd, in Fernando Buesa Arena at 20:30.
BASKONIA OUTLOOK – During summer, Baskonia—who won the Copa del Rey last year—strengthened its perimeter, particularly with the additions of AJ Lawson, Chris Duarte, and DJ Stewart. There were also plenty of other new additions, including the latest one regarding Marcio Santos.
Guards: Kobi Simmons arrived in Vitoria last year during the season and immediately proved himself to be an impactful point guard (averaging 11.1 points and 3.0 assists in the EuroLeague), earning a permanent spot and the starting slot ahead of Italian Matteo Spagnolo, who, despite being only 23, has already made 90 appearances in Europe’s top competition and has experience with the senior national team. Dominican Republic native Chris Duarte emerged late, during his final two years of college, at Oregon, the first of which was spent as a backup to Boston Celtics star Peyton Pritchard. A first-round pick in 2021, he played four years in the NBA, averaging 13.1 points per game in his first season at Indiana. Last year, he arrived in Malaga and immediately established himself as a elite offensive player. Damion Baugh, formerly of Texas Christian, played for three years in the NBA and the G-League before stints in Libya and Canada. There’s a lot of anticipation surrounding Stefan Joksimovic, the 18-year-old Slovenian guard who was the MVP of the this summer European U18 championship, where he defeated Italy to win gold. But the star is obviously Markus Howard, one of the competition’s best shooters: he’s in his fifth season in Vitoria, has 128 EuroLeague appearances and over 1,000 career three-point attempts.
Forwards: DJ Stewart, who could also be used as a off guard, came out of Mississippi State and is in his EuroLeague debut season after three years and 51 appearances in the EuroCup, playing in Ljubljana. A.J. Lawson is a complete newcomer to Europe. He can also play guard, is Canadian, and has 104 NBA appearances for his career, a quarter of which came last season in Toronto. Coming out of South Carolina, he’s a superb athlete. Frenchman Clement Frisch arrived in Vitoria in 2025, finding significant playing time both in the EuroLeague and in Spain, where he displayed excellent shooting ability. The starting power forward is Lithuanian Tadas Sedekerskis, a veteran of the competition, having made 171 appearances, all with Baskonia, despite some injuries (last year he made only 13 appearances). He’s a solid player, excellent defensively, and a notable rebounder. Rodions Kurucs is another powerforward who spent three years trying to find space in the NBA, then he tried again in Europe with various clubs, including Partizan and especially Murcia before arriving at Baskonia (last year he averaged 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in the EuroLeague).
Centers: veteran Kenneth Faried, who averages over 11 points and eight rebounds in his NBA career, was productive last year, especially early, at Panathinaikos. Even at 37, he’s a physical player and a great rebounder. Baskonia, after releasing Alex Len, this week signed Brazilian international Marcio Santos, who played for Maccabi last year.
THE CONNECTION – Peppe Poeta played for Vitoria during the 2013-14 season, making 10 appearances and scoring 39 points in the EuroLeague. Baskonia coach Paolo Galbiati is a product of the Olimpia youth system, where he coached for years, winning the Under-17 championship in 2013, before joining the first team staff with Jasmin Repesa in 2015. As a coach, he won the Italian Cup with Torino in 2017 with Poeta as point guard. They also worked together in Cremona in the 2021-22 season. Alec Peters played two seasons for Vitoria between 2020 and 2022, with 45 EuroLeague appearances and 496 points scored. Darius Thompson played one season for Baskonia in 2022-23, with 34 appearances, s427 points scored and 227 assists dished.
Commenta
Visualizza commenti