Paffoni chases in the first quarter, does not disunite – on the contrary, compacts – and wins the battle at the Pala del Mauro in Avellino. Regenerated and with a new enthusiasm, Balanzoni and his teammates prevailed 86 to 66 on a field which, in recent months, had seen Del Fes win important matches and give all their opponents a hard time.
As mentioned, the start is not the best: Avellino tries to escape, finds a double-digit advantage, but Paffoni is alive and proves it, with Torgano and Balanzoni immediately involved. Without Solaroli, stopped by an ankle problem, the rossoverdi gritted their teeth and above all their shirts in defense, conceding a paltry 37 points to their opponents, equalizing the score at half-time with an excellent final impulse. It is in the second half that the match is decided: Eliantonio’s men defend with order, sending Avellino out of control, who forces many shots after a pass. In the other half of the pitch Paffoni limits Irpinia’s physicality by running along the 28 meters and widening the spaces as much as possible. Balanzoni creates advantages from the center of the area, Torgano, Kosic and Baldassarre finish from beyond the 6.75 mark. In the final with Fresno’s impact and Vasl’s triple, Del Fes tries to hang on to the match, but Fazioli’s dribble-stopping-shot from the corner and the baskets of Torgano and Kosic send the final credits of the match, with Balanzoni’s dunk putting the exclamation point on Paffoni’s precious victory.
Coach Eliantonio commented as follows after the match: “We were good: at defending, at fighting in rebounds against a strong and big team. They won important matches, with Montecatini and Legnano, but today we had the attributes, playing a great match against a well-trained and much improved team! We had to spread the field and fight in defence, and we did it well. Now let’s look at match after match, on Saturday Piacenza is at home and also won against Libertas Livorno, coming from an excellent moment and we must prepare ourselves for this very tough challenge.”
Del Fes Avellino – Paffoni Fulgor Omegna 66-86 (19-12, 19-25, 12-23, 16-26)
Del Fes Avellino: Matias Bortolin 20 (9/16, 0/0), Lucas Fresno 13 (4/6, 1/2), Riccardo Chinellato 9 (3/7, 0/2), Miha VaŠl 8 (2/3 , 1/4), Federico Burini 7 (0/7, 2/7), Aleksa Nikolic 5 (2/7, 0/0), Armando Verazzo 3 (1/3, 0/1), Giovanni Carenza 1 (0 /1, 0/0), Simone Giunta 0 (0/1, 0/0), Alessio Schiavone 0 (0/0, 0/0), Vincenzo Spagnuolo 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Paffoni Fulgor Omegna: Marco Torgano 21 (5/7, 3/4), Jacopo Balanzoni 18 (8/13, 0/1), Zan Kosic 14 (3/4, 2/4), Patrick Baldassare 12 (1/1 , 3/3), Damir Hadzic 7 (0/5, 2/5), Andrea Picarelli 6 (1/1, 1/3), Filippo Fazioli 5 (1/2, 1/3), Mattia Coltro 3 (0 /1, 1/1), Martino Matteo Forte 0 (0/0, 0/0), Manuele Solaroli 0 (0/0, 0/0)
