The new year brings the season closer to the end of the first round, with many teams still fighting to reach a place in the top eight, which is worth access to the next Final Eight of the Italian Cup, scheduled for February. The 14th round offers, among others, interesting direct clashes between Varese and Naples, Trento and Trieste and the complicated challenge (especially for the guests) between Cremona and Reggio Emilia.
Openjobmetis Varese – Guerri Napoli
Saturday 3 January, 6.15pm
The advance of the 14th round offers the match in Masnago between Varese and Naples, a match that is worth a decisive step towards the Final Eight. Guerri (12 points and currently eighth in the standings) actually has a match point to stay in the top eight while Openjobmetis (10 points and eleventh), with a few lucky hits, can still play their cards in pursuit of a place among the big teams at the end of the first round. Magro’s team, fresh from the home success against Cantù, is looking for a double consecutive victory which they have not achieved since last October 26th. Varese, on the other hand, has won the last two in a row, the most recent on the difficult pitch of Trapani, now in a very complex situation between penalty points and a club that doesn’t know if it will reach the end of the season. The path of Openjobmetis, after a very complicated start, has improved over time, finding in the experience of Alviti and Librizzi (pillars left over from last season) and in the new energy of Nkamhoua the main weapons to move up the rankings and now find themselves with the opportunity to reach the (first) unexpected Final Eight.
Dolomiti Energia Trentino – Trieste Basketball
Sunday 4 January, 5pm
Equally interesting will be the match between Dolomiti Energia Trentino and Pallacanestro Trieste, which will take place on the afternoon of Sunday 17 January. The ranking, as in the case of the previous match, sees two teams just one victory apart, with Trieste currently occupying seventh place (12 points) and Trento thirteenth (with 10). The difficulties and inability of Cancellieri’s team to find continuity are making Dolomiti Energia struggle quite a bit, accustomed in past years to being comfortably among the top eight at this point of the season. Sunday’s match will pit the Bianconeri against a sort of litmus test, which in the event of defeat would almost certainly result in their failure to qualify for the Italian Cup, which last year was won by the Trentino team, in a splendid run that saw them triumph in the final against Olimpia Milano. On the other hand, however, there will be a Trieste that absolutely will not want to miss the opportunity to remain among the top eight and, indeed, will want to take one more step towards the coveted qualification for the Final Eight. To win, Trento will have to rediscover the best verve of DeVanté Jones, who in the last two outings has not scored more than 9 points, significantly lowering his and the team’s average points. The same goes for Andrej Jakimovski, who has reached double figures in only two of the last five games, while a decidedly more impactful contribution is expected from him in terms of scoring. Trieste is better, in terms of points in the standings, but not too much in morale given the last two defeats against Varese and Virtus Bologna, but the good news is the growth of Juan Toscano-Anderson, who after a very complex start seems to have found his balance in the Italian championship. And then, coach Israel Gonzalez, can count on the reliability of Markel Brown and Colbey Ross, used to playing inside-outside games, as this one against Trento seems to be.
Vanoli Cremona – UNA Hotels Reggio Emilia
Sunday 4 January, 5.30pm
We close our preview of the top flight with the match between Cremona and Reggio Emilia, which pits two teams against each other who are effectively playing for important survival points. Cremona, with 10 points, is currently tenth in the standings and with a victory they would get closer to the top eight places, but the others are looming from behind and being paired with four opponents does not allow for too many flights of fancy, because a defeat could significantly change the ranking for the worse (bringing it closer to the relegation zone), just as a victory could do it for the better. Reggio Emilia is definitely not better off, which to date would have been relegated from the bottom of its penultimate place, although shared with Cantù. The Emilian team is unable to provide consistent results, struggling on every occasion. The red and whites have won only one match in the last ten, racking up a series of negative results that have sent Priftis’ group into a deep crisis, and they don’t seem to be able to recover. The direct clash against Vanoli is the opportunity to change gear and move up the slope of a ranking that is currently very deficient, which is starting to see the safety zone move away. The two victories away from the quiet zone of the ranking are already a big burden to face which, even with a short ranking, are not at all simple and obvious to recover. This is why Reggio will have to try to change the fate of their season from the beginning of the new year, so as not to find themselves in this situation in two months and risk having to abandon the top category.
