Olimpia Milano’s Peppe Poeta is wary of Venice: “It’ll be extremely tough there”
Olimpia Milano is on a roll toward the championship title following its convincing victory over Reyer Venezia in Game 2 of the league finals. The decisive 92-79 win, however, does not seem to have completely put Peppe Poeta’s mind at ease ahead of the upcoming match at the PalaTaliercio. “It will be extremely difficult to win there, and we’re aware of that,” the Milan coach said immediately after the game. “They have a significant home-court advantage and have demonstrated it throughout the playoffs. We’re playing well, moving the ball effectively, but we stalled in the second half. Against a team as strong as theirs, we can’t afford that. We have to think not even one game at a time, but one possession at a time.”
On the other side, Neven Spahija doesn’t mince words and openly admits to the difficulties facing his Reyer team. “I can see my guys are really tired; the five minutes they closed out the first half with were insane. We were up 38-33, and they hit five three-pointers. We’d miss a shot, and they’d make another one. But we don’t want to give up; we’re back in front of our fans, and we don’t want to give up,” declared the Orogranata coach. The Croatian coach then praised the rivals in no uncertain terms: “Congratulations again to Olimpia Milano. For their victory, but also for the basketball they play. They’re deep, fresh, have tremendous quality, and perform at a high level. There’s a difference in quality that’s clear.” A difference that, according to Spahija, comes mainly from the rotations: “It doesn’t help that Reyer is really tired, since in our rotations we don’t have 12 players but just 6 or 7 who are really carrying the load.”
The fatigue cited by the Orogranata coach has deep roots in a grueling season. The Venetians only got the better of Derthona Tortona in the decisive Game 5 at the PalaTaliercio, before eliminating defending champion Virtus Bologna in a hard-fought semifinal. It was precisely against the ‘Vu Nere’ that Venice had to bring out its best: Amedeo Tessitori scored 22 points in the decisive Game 4, contributing to the sensational fourth-quarter comeback in which Reyer scored 33 points in the final ten minutes to overturn a ten-point deficit.
On the Milan side, the depth of the roster is proving to be their most devastating weapon. Already in Game 1, a decisive 100-80 win at the Forum, a full 55 of the Biancorossi’s 100 points came off the bench, with Diop and Mannion as the standout performers with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Poeta himself, in his post-game comments that evening, had praised the two Azzurri, calling Diop “devastating” and lauding Mannion’s growth: “An extremely intelligent game; he’s also improving on defense. He’s making good use of the spaces and taking them with leadership and charisma.” These performances have also reignited discussions about their future: until a few weeks ago, their departure at the end of the season seemed a foregone conclusion, but a final played at this level could convince the club to keep them.
Leading EA7 toward a possible third trophy of the season is also Leandro Bolmaro, the regular season’s Best Defender, who had warned on the eve of the series: “Venice is a great team and it will be a very tough series. Anything can happen in the finals, so we’ll have to take it one game at a time, one possession at a time.” Words that seem to echo those of “The Poet” himself, confirming a well-established team mentality. Olimpia, which has already won the Super Cup and the Italian Cup—the latter by defeating Bertram Tortona 85-77 in the final—now aims to cap off a historic season with the most coveted title.
