To the PalaPentassuglia there Happy Casa Brindisi challenge theUmana Reyer Venice in the match which is the 29th and penultimate matchday of the Serie A championship.
The hosts, coming from victory gained in Pistoia, are looking for another success to continue the race for salvation. The fate of the white-blue therefore passes through the challenge against the gold-grenade, veterans of the home success in the derby against Treviso.
It’s about the 44th clash between the two clubs, with Venezia leading the overall score by 31-12 and the matches played in Brindisi by 11-8. In the recent past, Reyer and Happy Casa competed for the 2020 Italian Cup, with the lagoon players emerging victorious 73 to 67.
In the first leg matchvalid for the 7th matchday of Serie A and played on 12 November, Spahija’s men won 79 to 71 at the end of 40 minutes of great battle.
Brindisi comes to this challenge with the full roster, while Venice has to deal with the absences of Aamir Simms (flu syndrome) and Andrea De Nicolao (fever).
Happy Casa Brindisi 84-80 Umana Reyer Venezia: analysis of the match
Brindisi beats Reyer Venezia by heart, but it is a vain success. In fact, the results of the other fields, and in particular the success of Treviso in Varese, mathematically condemn Happy Casa to relegation to A2.
Happy Casa, after a first quarter in which it seemed to be in difficulty, takes the reins of the match in the second half and leads until the final siren. Regardless of the fate of the Apulian club regarding next season, the blue-whites brought home a prestigious and above all deserved success, putting a lot of heart and energy throughout all 40 minutes of the game. A victory, among other things, gained, and conquered with tooth and nail, with a PalaPentassuglia already aware of his future halfway through the last period (a 10-minute stop in the first quarter, due to a problem with the scoreboard, caused a mismatch between the various matches, with all the other matches ending well before Brindisi-Venice).
Sakota’s men aren’t perfect in defense but they are skilled in punishing all the opponents’ carelessness in the offensive phasesharing the ball well (18 assists) realizing the important moments. The blue-whites have indeed sent Venice’s comeback attempts back to the sender and then resisted the final siege in a hard-fought last minute of the game.
The key moments of the match are basically three: the partial score of 14-0 (which later became 23-3) between the first and second periods with which Happy Casa overcomes Reyer and takes the lead in the match, the partial of 8-0 at the end of the third quarter where Brindisi regains the double-digit lead and, finally, the Lombardi’s +4 tap-in 35″ from the end (which gave a notable advantage to Brindisi in the final free throw roulette).
At an individual level, the evidence of Sneed (22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 11 fouls drawn) and Bayehe (17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists).
Concrete toast, Reyer Venice “arrived”
If on the one hand Brindisi puts heart and energy into play, on the other Reyer Venezia brings out its own “arrived” versionor that of a team already satisfied with what has been achieved so far.
It is true that the gold-grenade players do not find any benefits from these last matches, with the fourth place in the standings (synonymous with field factor in the playoffs) in the drawerbut this cannot be an excuse to take the field without attacking the matches with the desire to achieve success.
This is in fact what, at least apparently, the people of the lagoon have implied. Beyond a rush in the first quarter in fact, where Venezia had escaped on +7 (12-19) after a partial of 11-2, Spahija’s men showed off here and there in the rest of the match, trying without success to overcome those three possession deficits accumulated in the second period.
The right aggressiveness in defense and fluidity in attack are missing, combined with a lackluster long-range shot (27%) and adventures from the charity line which achieve 72% effectiveness. On the other hand, the data on turnovers is positive, which stands – as has rarely happened this season – below 10 units (8). The icing on the cake turns out to be theTucker’s expulsion midway through the final period following an elbow given to Laquintana.
The only two to survive are Spissu (23 points, 7/12 shooting, 4 rebounds and 4 assists) and Kabengele (19 points, 7/11 shooting and 12 rebounds, of which 7 offensive).
The statistical scoreboard of the match
Partial: 19-22; 26-16; 22-19; 17-23
Totals: 19-22; 45-38; 67-57; 84-80
Happy Casa Brindisi: Morris 14, Malaventura NE, Laquintana 4, Sneed* 22, Laszewski* 7, Smith, Seck NE, Lombardi 7, Bartley* 9, Riisma NE, Bayehe* 17, Washington* 4. Rebounds: Lombardi 9. Assists: Bartley 4, Washington 4. Coaches: Sakota
Umana Reyer Venice: Tessitori 5, Spissu* 23, Heidegger 6, Casarin* 2, O’Connell, Janelidze NE, Kabengele* 19, Parks 1, Brooks* 2, Wiltjer 11, Barbero NE, Tucker* 11. Rebounds: Kabengele 12. Assists: Spissu 4, Casarin 4, Heidegger 4. Coaches: Spahija
