The six consecutive defeats that ended the regular season were soon forgotten. Solmec Rhodigium Basket takes advantage of the home court factor and wins Game 1 of the first playout round against Dimensione Bagno Carugate with a score of 71-52. Now only one victory is missing for salvation in LBF Serie A2.
The match begins with great energy on both sides of the pitch from Solmec, who immediately takes the lead at 5-0 and forces their opponents to score the first basket after more than 3′ of play. Rhodigium escapes in the score with a run of 10-0 for what proved to be a triumphant first period, ending with a score of 19-4. The second quarter opens with a 2-10 score for the visiting players, who managed to slow down the pace of the match, thus putting Rhodigium in difficulty. At the half-time siren Carugate is trailing Rodigine with a score of 27-25: the partial of the second half of the game reads 8-21 in favor of the Lombards.
Rhodigium returns to the field with the desire to close the match: in the very first minutes of the second half a phenomenal Michela Battilotti (with her best performance of the season with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals), together with Silvia Viviani (14 points) score the partial of 6-0 which puts the home team considerably ahead in the score. The double-digit lead was soon reached, maintained until the siren of the third period (47-36) thanks to Sara Zanetti with 9 points and 11 rebounds. In the middle of the fourth period, Battilotti himself recovers the ball and supports the +20 (62-42) and thus gives life to the last five minutes of pure formality. The very young Silvia Martin and Irene Marchetti also made their debut in the post-season. The verdict of Game 1 is 71-52.
Strengthened by the success in the first match of the series, Solmec Rhodigium Basket will face Carugate again on Wednesday 1 May at 6.00 pm. A possible away victory for Rodigine would mean automatic salvation in Serie A2 for next season. In the event of an away defeat, they would return to the Palazzetto dello Sport in Rovigo to play the “beautiful” match on Sunday 5 May at 6pm.
Giulia Pego- playoffs could have played a cruel joke on us, especially against an experienced team like Carugate. We won the first match, but there is still a long way to go to safety.”
Solmec Rhodigium Basket – Carugate Bath Size 71-52 (19-4; 8-21; 20-11; 24-16)
Rhodigium: Mašić 8, Viviani 14, Martin, Paoletti 8, Battilotti 15, Tumeo, Bonivento 7, Marchetti, Zanetti 9, Furlani 2, Ballarin 2, Atanasovska 6. Coach Pegoraro.
Carugate: Tarkovicova 9, Usuelli 4, Rulli 8, Cassani 6, Albanelli 9, Caccialanza, Andreone, Fabrricini 4, Nespoli 6, Rizzi 6. Coach Brambilla.
