Partials: 18-24; 34-42; 53-62
Umana Reyer: Spissu 10, Tessitori 7, Heidegger 7, Casarin 3, De Nicolao, Kabengele 14, Parks 7, Brooks ne, Simms 10, Wiltjer 13, Vanin ne, Tucker 3. All. Spahija.
UNAHotels: Weber 6, Bonaretti ne, Cipolla ne, Galloway 18, Faye 11, Smith 25, Uglietti 1, Atkins 7, Black 10, Vitali 3, Grant, Chillo 1. All. Priftis.
Despite a great comeback in the final period, until the draw was reached 1′ from the end, Umana Reyer had to surrender in Game 1 of the playoff quarter-finals at UNAHotels Reggio Emilia, ultimately racing 74-82 at Taliercio, where they will return in 48 hours for Race 2.
Spissu, Tucker, Casarin, Simms and Kabengele start in the quintet. Driven by Galloway’s triples, Reggio started off very strong (0-8) with a gold time out after 1’30”. A dunk by Tucker unlocks the lead after 2′ for Umana Reyer who, in a very physical match, closes the game to 8-10 at 4’30”. However, UNAHotels starts hitting from the arc again, taking the lead 14-21 at 19′ and it’s 18-24 at 10′. Reggio reaches +8 again at the start of the second quarter (18-26), but the reaction of the Orogranazta, who raise the defensive intensity, is important: with Wiltjer in great evidence, the 9-0 break is worth the first advantage (27-26 at 13’30”). However, the guests also scored 0-9 in response, with Umana Reyer suffering from the defensive pressure of their opponents: at 16′ it was 27-35, also due to the many offensive rebounds (11 in 20′) by Reggio. And, at the end of the half, UNAHotels also found their aim from the arc, in particular with Smith, who dragged them to 34-42 upon returning to the locker room.
In the starting quintet of the second half we see Casarin again, who had left after just 3’30” following two rather physical contacts suffered, but Reggio once again started better, reaching 34-47 at 21’30”. Umana Reyer restarts from Spissu’s triple in the 22nd minute and, raising the level of the defense, at 23’30” is at 42-37. In quick succession, the third fouls are called against Kabengele and Tessitori, which lead to the bonus, but Spissu, with an assist from Tessitori, manages to shave off one more point: 44-48 at 25’30”. At the end of the period, from 48-53 in the 27th minute the guests found the lead at 49-60 in the 29th minute and then went into the final short interval ahead 53-62. Smith makes a triple to make it 53-65 at the start of the last quarter, but then spends it unsportsmanlike. Umana Reyer looks for Tessitori, who is stopped almost systematically with the foul, but pays for some errors from the line, still bringing the orogranata closer to 59-65 in the 32nd minute, immediately after a refereeing error which will prove decisive in the final: a correct intervention by Parks to remove the ball from the rim is initially assessed as an incorrect interception. The intervention of the first referee Begnis corrects his colleague’s mistake, but the ball is entrusted to the orogranata using the arrow. Reggio returns to +9 again, up to 63-72 in the 36th minute, with what, however, will remain his last field goal for a long time. In fact, Umana Reyer finally manages to take control of the inertia, file point after point and, after two consecutive triples from Wiltjer, reach 74 in the 39th minute with Kabengele’s dunk on an assist from Parks at the end of an action with excellent circulation. Smith puts the overtaking free throws at -53″ then, after coach Spahija’s time out, at -43″ on the orogranata attack comes the arrow which, after the previous decision, rewards the guests. And Smith, at -21”, makes the triple that closes the game, with the score finally rounded from the foul line to 74-82.
