Repower Sanga was defeated by Ragusa 73-54
A two-faced Repower returns from Sicily with a defeat, in fact Passalacqua Ragusa wins at the end of a match in which the Sicilians’ extension at the end of the third quarter proved decisive.
A high-paced first quarter with the home team leading the way straight away thanks to the 5-0 run by Thomas and Jakubcova. Repower finds the reaction with Dornstauder and Beretta and it reaches the halfway stage at 12-8. A frenetic phase of the match begins with both teams making a lot of mistakes in attack, with Milazzo taking center stage and signing the first real escape attempt for the Ragusan team who close the period at 21-13.
Pastrello opens the second half with a triple which Dornstauder responds to from inside the area. Milazzo leads the hosts to 31-15, who noticeably increase their intensity in defense and rebounding while the Milanese attack struggles to find solutions. Madonna and Vintsilaiou find points for Repower but Thomas’ triple arrives immediately which brings the Sicilians back to +16. Madonna from 6.75 tries to give energy back to the Milanese attack which then also finds the basket from Turmel’s post which brings Repower back to -11 prompting coach Lardo to time out; However, Jakubcova scored the last basket of the first half which sent the teams to the locker rooms at 38-25.
Nice start to the second half for Repower who patiently found Toffali’s triple (38-28). Miccoli responds to the orange number “0” from the arc and engages in a tough duel with the Milanese long players with the referees who decide to use an at least curious meter that often forgives the player from Ragusa. Dornstauder complains about the contacts and receives a technical foul but Repower still gets back to -9 with coach Pinotti deciding to call a time-out at a moment in which the match seems to be getting nervous. Milazzo continues to be the center of the Sicilian attack while Repower looks for points from their long players. The pace and scoring percentages of the two teams drop; Vintsilaiou brings Repower back to -7 from the line, but Juskaite immediately brings his team back to double figures. Two bad turnovers by the Orange are converted into baskets by Passalacqua, so we go to the final break at 56-42.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter Bonomi makes his entrance and immediately finds two points (56-44); Milazzo confirms itself as a difficult puzzle for the Milanese defense. The game fades away possession after possession with the two teams rather imprecise in their shooting, the hosts take advantage of this to improve their statistics and end the match at 73-54.
At the end of the game Coach Pinotti declared “They grabbed 10 rebounds more than us and shot better from three. Ragusa played with greater intensity, desire and dynamism than us. This match represents a step back compared to last week’s derby. I found the only positive note in the recovery we had in the third quarter when from -15 we returned to -7. Unfortunately we thwarted this effort with three bad turnovers which brought us back to -14 in a short time. We lack continuity over the 40 minutes and against teams like Ragusa the moments of decline always take their toll.”
