{"id":3335,"date":"2026-10-01T11:47:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bankrollatlas.com\/fr\/matchs\/no-true-centre-for-baskonia-three-rookies-carrying-olimpia-milan-in-vitoria\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T23:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T21:11:18","slug":"baskonia-olimpia-milan-prediction-2026-10-02","status":"publish","type":"ba_match","link":"https:\/\/bankrollatlas.com\/en\/matches\/basketball\/euroleague\/baskonia-olimpia-milan-prediction-2026-10-02\/","title":{"rendered":"No true centre for Baskonia, three rookies carrying Olimpia Milan in Vitoria"},"content":{"rendered":"

A EuroLeague game is won under the rim first. On Friday at the Fernando Buesa Arena, Baskonia go into it with Faried, 36, as their only true centre: Alex Len was released at the end of September, and head coach Paolo Galbiati said on Wednesday evening<\/a> that Tadas Sedekerskis will go under the knife, his season probably over, and that Kurucs missed the Valencia game with swollen knees. The club has confirmed nothing since.<\/p>\n

In Valencia, the first quarter told the story<\/h2>\n

26-10 after ten minutes, 1 of 14 from three at half-time, 10 turnovers: the evening in Valencia<\/a> showed a team with no collective rhythm. Galbiati, who arrived this summer, inherited a wasted preseason between injuries and a short roster, and the reads are missing on every outing. Over two rounds, Baskonia have scored 177 points and conceded 217. Sedekerskis still put up 16 points and Faried 15 before the American took a knock on the leg<\/a> in the third quarter and came back to finish the game.<\/p>\n

The five spot now comes down to Faried and Frisch. M\u00e1rcio Santos, who arrived on 29 September, is in Vitoria, but Galbiati doubts he can slot him in just like that: hard this week, we will see whether he can help straight away. The offensive rebound is still a Basque weapon, 15.5 boards per game against 11.0 for Milan, but you need bodies under the rim to cash it in.<\/p>\n

Milan live on their rookies<\/h2>\n

Giuseppe Poeta has his bearings. An opening defeat, then a win scraped against Virtus Bologna on a Devon Hall buzzer-beater: the coach praised his three rookies<\/a>, Cole, Burnell and Mathews, and the rotation runs through them. Cole and Thompson each played 37 minutes against Virtus.<\/p>\n

The schedule gives no respite: 14 games in 36 days between 25 September and 30 October. Milan shoot 39.6 % from three since the restart, against 30.6 % for Baskonia. In a game that can come down to two possessions, that is the sharpest gap in the matchup.<\/p>\n

The four results of the early season:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Round<\/th>\nTeam<\/th>\nOpponent<\/th>\nVenue<\/th>\nScore<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
R1<\/td>\nBaskonia<\/td>\nOlympiacos<\/td>\nhome<\/td>\n89-106<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R2<\/td>\nBaskonia<\/td>\nValencia<\/td>\naway<\/td>\n88-111<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R1<\/td>\nOlimpia Milan<\/td>\nPartizan<\/td>\naway<\/td>\n76-92<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R2<\/td>\nOlimpia Milan<\/td>\nVirtus Bologna<\/td>\nhome<\/td>\n87-85<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The doubts on the team sheet<\/h2>\n