Trapani Shark’s journey begins in the best possible way in game 1 of the playoffs. A good Piacenza withstood the blow and remained in the game for 25 minutes until 57-57, only to then implode and disappear from the field under the blows of Mobio (20 points) and his teammates, who placed the decisive shot and went to home victory 90-69. Game 2 will be repeated on Monday.
Trapani Shark – Assigeco Piacenza: 90-69 (23-19, 46-40, 70-59)
Shark drills: Mobio 20, Notae 14, Pullazi 12, Marini 11, Horton 10 Alibegovic 7, Mollura 6, Gentile 4, Imbrò 3, Mian 3
Assigeco Piacenza: Veronesi 15, Skeens 14, Serplli 13, D’Almeida 7, Sabatini 7, Querci 6, Bonacini 4, Filoni 3.
The curtain rises on the A2 playoffs and on the silver scoreboard, with Trapani finally ready to begin its journey after a long wait as a solitary leader. Piacenza, on the other hand, tore the post season pass with its teeth, and goes to Sicily with great tranquility, high morale and with nothing to lose, even if it lost perhaps its best player, Malcolm Miller, who was injured at Palashark in the phase by the clock and again knocked out. For Trapani, however, everyone is skilled and ready, except the two who take turns going to the stands, who in this round are Rodriguez and Renzi. Ready to go and Skeens immediately raises his voice and with 6 points in a row takes his lead to 3-6 after the first 2 minutes, in which Notae immediately hits the first triple of the evening. At 4′ Veronesi responds with a four-point play to Mian’s triple, and keeps his lead 8-12. Small quintet and excellent dynamism for the Emilians, good at finding quick and effective solutions. Imbro’ from distance and Marini from below try to reverse the trend, equalizing at 17 points one minute before the first siren. The final is all grenade, with Mobio and Pullazi finding the right triples to escape at 23-19 which closes the first half.
Trapani tries to follow the lead by keeping the intensity high, trying to improve in defense and always attacking in attack. Gentile, Mollura and Mobio’s triple hurt the guests, who scored less easily and found themselves 32-25 at 13′. Only Scarpilli manages to puncture the Granata net from distance, otherwise well defended by Horton and co, who remain ahead 37-30 in the 15th minute. Notae’s flashes light up the Palashark, with Trapani trying to keep at bay the attempts to return by Sabatini and his associates, still dynamic but more imprecise. The Imbrò/Notae double play works in alternating phases, bringing the Granata to a double-digit margin, only to be patched up by Veronesi and the usual Serpilli. The score was 43-37 60 seconds after the long break, which led to Marini’s triple and the following one from Bonacini at the end, making it 46-40 which put an end to the second half.
We return to the field, and Alibegovic finally becomes the protagonist with 5 points in the series which however do not scare the guests, who are good at hitting the target with Sabatino and Veronesi who keep Assigeco afloat, who remain in their wake 53-47 after the first 3 minutes of the third period. Skeens’ 3-point play brings the guests back to -3 and effectively back in the game, leveraging the character of the men who are more dangerous than him. Trapani shows up with a couple of shots from Horton, but a super Veronesi puts the plug back on and seals the new draw at 57-57 in the 26th minute. It takes a couple of assists from Gentile to rekindle the engines in the Granata home, with Mobio first placing a heavy triple and then making two more free throws for the home team’s new lead, who escape 64-57 in the 28th minute. In the best moment, Piacenza completely falters, taking in an 11-0 that is very hard to digest, which drags on until 1 minute from the end at 68-58, when Veronesi only makes 1 of 2 from the line. Piacenza is colder than an icicle, he no longer knows how to score, while Horton extends further and closes the third period for his team at 70-59.
Pullazi’s triple dealt another blow to Piacenza’s morale at the start of the last quarter, with the guests completely incapable of restarting and scoring again. Coach Salieri’s timeouts were of little use, overwhelmed by Trapani’s overwhelming desire to win. Marini and Mollura don’t stop, they score +18 in the 33rd minute at 77-59 and definitively direct the match. Pullazi again from distance takes him beyond the 20 point margin, 80-59, with Piacenza remaining stuck even in free throws, ending up collapsing in on itself. Bonacini’s layup brings Piacenza back to the basket from open play after more than 10 minutes, in a turning point in the match with only grenade hues. Pullazi scores his third triple of the series and rolls the final credits to the match already in the 37th minute at 86-61. Game on ice and celebration in the stands beforehand, until 90-69 with which game 1 ends.
