Former Fairfield University Basketball Stars Needham and Sanders Go Head-to-Head for Italian Championship

Former Fairfield University men-s basketball standouts Derek Needham and Rakim Sanders were on the hardwood together once again ? this time as foes on the coasts of the Mediterranean, where Sanders- Olimpia Milano outgunned Needham-s Reggiana to win the Italian Lega A championship series, 4-2, in six games. The duo were three years and 4,000 miles away from Alumni Hall and Webster Bank Arena where they thrilled Stags men's basketball fans during the 2011-12 season, facing each other in a thrilling championship series. Sanders also played at Boston College before becoming a Stag. On Monday, June 13, Sanders scored 13 points and Olimpia Milano emerged victorious in the final game of the Lega A, securing a comeback victory on the way to squeaking out a 74-70 nail biter. Needham contributed five points and three rebounds to his team-s effort, but couldn-t stop Milano from securing their 27th championship. Facing a 2-0 deficit heading into game three on June 7, Needham helped his team pull a game back to cut the series deficit in half, notching ten points, six assists, and four rebounds as Reggiana won 81-72. The former teammates, now rivals, squared off once again on June 9, with Sanders dropping an impressive 21 points for Milano even as they surrendered their series lead. Olimpia Milano jumped out to a quick first-quarter lead, but were unable to hold on despite a 15-7 advantage in offensive rebounding. Olimpia Milano retook the series lead in game five with another strong showing from Sanders, who shot a deadly 87% from inside the arc on his way to a 14-point night. The Milanese side notched a commanding 97-74 victory over Needham-s Reggiana, out-rebounding the losing side by 11 and getting double-digit points from three of their bench players. Olimpia Milano faced a five-point hole after three quarters of their Game 6 away win, before a 29-20 run in the final period of play secured their latest championship. Milano is also leading Group J in Eurocup play, the European continental basketball championship tournament. More on Needham: Needham was born in Harvey Illinois October 20, 1990. After graduating from Fairfield University in 2013, he began his playing career overseas. Most recently, he arrived at Reggiana from Braunschweig, a team competing at the top of the German league. After playing in Lithuania for Siauliai and in Ukraine with Khimik, where he was named MVP after winning the 2015 Ukranian title, he played his first season in the German Bundesliga, averaging 15 points and 3.8 assists per 30 minutes of play, shooting 53% from the field, 35.5% from the arc, and 82.1% from the free throw line. More on Sanders: Played college basketball at Boston College (2007-10) and at Fairfield (2011-12)-moved to Israel for the 2012-13 season signed by Galil Gilboa-moved to Germany for the 2013-14 season, signed by Brose Baskets Bamberg...moved to Italy for the 2014-15 season, signed by Dinamo Sassari...in December'15, signed for the 2015-16 season by Olimpia Milano- won the 2014-15 Italian National Championship with Dinamo Sassari-won the 2015-16 Italian National Championship with Olimpia Milano-won the 2015 Italian National Cup with Dinamo Sassari-won the 2016 Italian National Cup with Olimpia Milano-won the 2014 Italian Super Cup with Dinamo Sassari-won the 2013 Balkan League with Galil Gilboa...named the 2015 Italian League Finals MVP. For updates on Fairfield basketball as well as updates on Sanders, Needham, other alumni, and news, follow Coach Johnson (@CoachJStags) and the Fairfield University basketball (@StagsMensBball) on Twitter. You can also find Fairfield basketball updates on Instagram.