The Christmas holidays don’t stop Serie A, but they give those of you who follow from home the chance to enjoy some healthy Italian basketball while sitting comfortably on the sofa. All that remains then is to recommend what for us are the best three matches of the weekend, matches in which the top ranking, salvation or the charm of a match between a great team trying to get back on top and one fighting for salvation but which up to now has done something more is at stake.
Germani Brescia – Umana Reyer Venice
Sunday 28 December, 4pm
First against second if we look at the points collected, second against third if we consider the direct clash that keeps Virtus ahead of everyone. Brescia against Venice is the best that the 13th round of the LBA can offer. Germani is fresh from the defeat in the direct clash against Virtus Olidata Bologna, but up until that match it was a team that had achieved six consecutive successes, deserving the record and the mathematical certainty of qualifying for the next Italian Cup, where it wants to be the protagonist. On the other hand, Reyer started with a decidedly more up-and-down performance, but before the defeat in Trento two weeks ago she had also lined up six victories, demonstrating that the work and team built by coach Spahija are very valid and have deservedly earned access to the Final Eight of the Italian Cup next February. PalaLeonessa’s match will therefore be very balanced, with a good challenge in the area between Bilan and Tessitori, while in terms of scoring Della Valle and Wiltjer are currently the players with the most on the ball in their respective teams. In the event of an away success for the Orogranatas, they would be tied to second place in the standings, with Bologna who, in the event of success, could be one victory behind both and remain alone at the top of the standings.
Nutribullet Treviso – Banco di Sardegna Sassari
Sunday 28 December, 5pm
Here we talk about salvation. Treviso is last in the standings, alone, with only four points, the result of just two victories achieved in ten matches played. Sassari, which had been in last place in the ranking for some time at the beginning of the season, has raised its head slightly and would now be safe, with its 13th place thanks to the four victories obtained. It is clear, however, that the PalaVerde match is a match that is deeply felt by both teams, both fully involved in order not to be relegated. Treviso is fresh from the defeat against Udine, another battle for survival which saw them emerge with broken bones and low morale. On the other hand, however, there is a Sassari team galvanized by the great success against Trapani and, overall, by the third in the last five matches played, which has slightly put back in order a ranking that was previously very deficient after the tragic start from 0-5. In Mrsic’s Dinamo, the arrivals of Pullen and Visconti have given new gas to a team stunned by a summer transfer market that was anything but glittering and, with them, other players also seem to have found confidence again: Bue, Johnson, Mezzanotte, Thomas and Mcglynn, not surprisingly, all scored double figures in the success against Shark. In the Treviso ranks, however, the points from Weber and the usual Olisevicius still don’t seem to be enough, for a team that is unable to find results and a minimum of continuity to remove itself from the quicksand of last place. However, the Christmas atmosphere and the home stadium could be a stimulus to raise their heads and get closer to the survival quota, which is only one or two victories away.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan – Vanoli Cremona
Monday 29 December, 8pm
We close our triptych of matches with one of the postponements, which will see Milan and Cremona face each other. Peppe Poeta’s Olimpia is currently fifth in the standings and is back from three consecutive victories, including the success over the Black Vs which has certainly boosted morale for the Italian vice-champions. With three matches to play before the end of the first round, one win is enough to guarantee qualification for the next Final Eight of the Italian Cup. A goal that doesn’t seem to be in question for the “red shoes”, but every match cannot be underestimated, starting from the apparently easy one against Vanoli. Even more so because on the other side there is a team that can challenge for access to the Italian Cup finish line. Currently ninth in the standings with five victories achieved, Brotto’s team has everything it takes to place in the top eight within the next three matches. The Lombard team has played an excellent season so far, already obtaining several important scalps, such as those of Trento, Trieste and above all Bologna, beaten at home in the third round of the regular season. With Casarin becoming the Italian leader of the group, Durham and Willis leading the team by always playing at their best and the beautiful discoveries found in Ndiaye and Jones, Vanoli is one of the best surprises of this first part of the season, to which Milan must pay close attention.
