FROM FRIDAY 9 JUNE AT 20:30 WITH RACE-1 AT FORUM D’ASSAGO, THE FINALS ARE LIVE ON WARNER BROS CHANNELS. DISCOVERY: FREE TO VIEW ON NOVE, SIMULCAST ON EUROSPORT, STREAMING AND ON DEMAND ON DISCOVERY+
Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna challenge each other in the final for the third consecutive year and as superpowers of the Italian championship with a title each: the first at Virtus in 2021, last year at Olimpia. A balance that also reflects the old scudetto challenges of 1979, won by Milan, and 1984 which went to Bologna, while the seasonal balance smiles at the black Vs with 4 wins in 5 challenges between the league, Super Cup and Euroleague.
However, the regular season standings are in favor of Olimpia which, having finished first on a par with Virtus, boasts a better difference between baskets in direct matches, thus guaranteeing a possible Game-7 of the championship finals at the Assago Forum.
After broadcasting a free-to-air match for each matchday of the championship and the full live playoffs, Warner Bros. Discovery welcomes the entire series of championship finals to its channels FREE-TO-VIEW ON NOVE, SIMULCAST ON EUROSPORT 2* and STREAMING ON DISCOVERY+ with commentary by Mario Castelli and Andrea Meneghin and sideline interviews and analyzes by Giulia Cicchinè and Guido Bagatta.
– Race 1 Olimpia Milano-Virtus Bologna: Friday 9 June at 8.30pm
– Race-2 Olimpia Milano-Virtus Bologna: Sunday 11 June at 18:00
– Race 3 Virtus Bologna-Olimpia Milano: Wednesday 14 June at 8.30pm
– Race 4 Virtus Bologna-Olimpia Milano: Friday 16 June at 8.30pm
– Eventual Game 5 Olimpia Milano-Virtus Bologna: Monday 19 June at 8.30 pm
– Possible Game 6 Virtus Bologna-Olimpia Milano: Wednesday 21 June at 8.30 pm
– Possible Race 7 Olimpia Milano-Virtus Bologna: Friday 23 June at 8.30 pm
BASKET ZONE LIVE FROM THE FORUM: FRIDAY JUNE 9 ON DMAX
Friday 9 June on DMAX, live from the parquet of the Mediolanum Forum in Assago shortly after the conclusion of Race 1, Basket Zone takes the field with Giulia Cicchinè and Andrea Meneghin to comment and relive the most important moments of the first chapter of a new series of the infinite challenge between the two queen teams of Italian basketball with highlights, statistics, plays, news and rumors of the basketball market.
BASKET ZONE PODCAST ON SPOTIFY: GUEST GIANMARCO POZZECCO
On the occasion of the championship finals, the Basket Zone podcast available on Spotify hosted the coach of the Italian national team Gianmarco Pozzecco, who commented on act III of Olimpia Milano-Virtus Bologna: Milan-Bologna in the final for the 3rd year consecutive: it is difficult to make a prediction. What we saw in the semi-final says that both teams are in form. They struggled during the year to find the right balance but now they seem ready for the final. I think we should also talk about the owners: Zanetti, Armani and more. Basketball has characters who are investing a lot, we insiders must be able to make the most sensible use of what is made available.
Milan and Bologna didn’t surprise me, but they confirmed. Basketball is going in a different direction from what we thought, we thought it could dominate small ball and instead I think we are moving towards an increasingly decisive physicality.
So much so that the finalist teams are very physical, because they have to face the Euroleague and can also take advantage of this advantage in the championship. Final to 7 games? No time to train? Let’s clear this rumor: you get to a certain point and you don’t train anymore, at that stage your game system is already up and running. If you have it, it’s good, otherwise individualities count. In a final, the psychological aspect is very important to me. We Italians are convinced that being underdog is the best possible medicine, but the truth is that if you are favored it is better because you are stronger. Milan and Bologna are in very good shape from this point of view.
*Possible Race-7 on Eurosport 1
NOVE is on channel 9 of digital terrestrial and Tivù Sat, 145 of Sky
DMAX is on channel 52 of digital terrestrial, 28 Tivù Sat and 170 of Sky
EUROSPORT channels are available on Discovery+, Sky, Now, Dazn, Timvision, Amazon Prime Channels