Lucky Wind Foligno closes the series with a clear two to zero against Nuova Simonelli Tolentino who also tried everything to bring the falcons to the “beautiful” and save themselves in the first round. However, coach Bruno’s team was saved immediately and, although disappointed at not having managed to enter the play-offs solely due to the difference in goals, managed to stay focused and complete the play-out practice without too many worries.
Coming to the match, the final result must not suggest that it was a walk in the park, because it was anything but. At the start, the hosts started off strongly, defending well and scoring from the arc: the Falcons, on the other hand, got nervous, also due to some hard contact between the two teams, loading themselves with fouls and practically never scoring. In the first quarter we are down 17-11 and even in the second half things aren’t going very well, even if at least in attack things are starting to turn around: Pavicevic scores, Patani and Garcia dominate on the rebounds, but the defense is still rough and we go all out ‘interval down by 3 (33-30).
At the start of the second half, Captain Mariotti takes the team by the hand with two bombs at the start and a third after a few actions right on the 24 minute siren. Foligno puts the arrow, overtakes and never looks back: the match remains sharp as that coach Calabrese is sent off for a double technicality, while Pandolfi and his teammates do not lose their composure, continuously scoring, driven by the noisy fans who came to the away team to support the falcons. Foligno wins 56-71, for the 2-0 which means salvation, while Tolentino will still have to play with the loser between Urbania and Assisi.
Lucky Wind Foligno’s 2023/24 season therefore goes to the archives, played for long stretches with quality and depth, only to then fall to the distance due also to the heavy injuries suffered by Pandolfi Elmi, Guerrini and Garcia. However, the group held up, included young and very young players in the squad and fought until the end as evidenced by the 5 consecutive final victories. We didn’t manage to reach the playoffs, but overall the boys really gave everything, deserving this salvation achieved with minimal effort.
A few days of rest for everyone, but soon we will start laying the foundations for next year, trying to take all the good things and improve the things that didn’t go our way, with the aim this time of making the playoffs and play them openly with everyone. (Source: Ubs Foligno Basket press office)
Basketball Tolentino – Ubs Foligno Basketball 56-71
Tolentino: Frascarelli ne, Cobanaj 1, Malloni 17, Vissani 7, Conti 3, Olocco 16, Fucili 3, Pelliccioni 3, Gismondi, Mazzoleni 6, Raponi ne, Taborro ne. All. Calabrese
Foligno: Pandolfi Elmi 9, Pavicevic 16, Mazzoli, Paluello ne, Zmejkoski ne, Cola 4, Mariotti 12, Garcia 8, Mazzotta ne, Guerrini 3, Patani 19, Cimarelli. All. Bruno
Partial: 17-11, 16-19, 13-23, 10-18.
Progressives: 17-11, 33-30, 46-53, 56-71.
Out for 5 fouls: Malloni and Vissani (Tolentino); Cimarelli (Foligno)
