The two thousand fans at the PalaSerradimigni first enjoyed the presentation of the brand new Dinamo, then watched them beat Virtus Zagreb 76-71, a young Croatian team whose veteran was former white-and-blue player Filip Kruslin (4 years in Sassari).

The Sassari team wore new black and gold jerseys. Coach Luca Vitali had to do without his brother Michele and American Nze, who were sidelined as a precaution given their workload, and was unable to field Pisano, the injured Kajami-Keane, or his newly arrived replacement Brandon Young.

The game remained tied for three quarters, then in the final quarter, a versatile Riismaa joined forces with point guard Monaldi and forward Aromando to create the first breakthrough, which was completed by 17-year-old Cipriano for a 12-point lead in the 34th minute. Dinamo's top scorers were Aromando with 17 points and Riisma with 10.

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