It ends with a game-1 defeat of the quarter-final playoff for Assigeco Piacenza on the parquet of the Pala Shark in Trapani. Although the result seems to tell the story of a completely different game, coach Salieri’s boys approach the match very well and remain fully in the match for three quarters (57-57 at 28′), before running out of energy towards the end. Trapani’s very deep roster does an excellent defensive job in the second half of the match, and definitively extends in the last partial led by a super Joseph Mobio (20 points and 8 rebounds). Giovanni Veronesi’s 15 points, Serpilli’s 13 and Skeens’ all-round performance (14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 fouls suffered) were not enough for the red and white. In two days we’ll be back on the pitch straight away: game 2 is on Monday at 8.30pm.
FIRST QUARTER
Skeens opens the game with six consecutive points, punctuated by Notae’s triple, for a crackling start at Pala Shark. Alibegovic nails a dizzying dunk, Serpilli doesn’t miss the shot but Mian equalizes at 8-8 thanks to the center from the big target. Four-point game from Veronesi, but Trapani stays in the wake and finds another bomb with Imbrò. Marini puts the hosts ahead for the first time, Serpilli responds from three but the Granata score another 5-0 minibreak. A dunk from D’Almeida and a triple from Pullazi close the first quarter at 23-19.
SECOND QUARTER
Mobio’s tap-in and Mollura’s basket bring Trapani to +7, then Bonacini scores in penetration but Gentile responds from the other side, forcing coach Salieri to time out. Serpilli and Mobio make no mistakes from beyond the arc, Veronesi scores two points with the power stop, then Notae scores five points in a row for the +10 granata (37-27 at 14′). Serpilli hits the third triple of his evening, but Trapani maintains the advantage with the stars and stripes tandem Notae-Horton, before the red and whites get closer at the end of the half thanks to the bombs of Querci and Filoni, which send the two teams to the long interval with the score 46-40.
THIRD FOURTH
After two points from Skeens, the hosts try to escape again, escaping to +11 thanks to an Alibegovic on the shields. The red and whites, however, are not there, and immediately make up for it thanks to the Sabatini-Skeens duo (55-50 at 25′), and then impact the score at 57-57 thanks to the raids of a possessed Veronesi. The Granata immediately took the lead again, scoring a 13-2 run, taking advantage of the foul bonus that Assigeco soon ran out of, and taking advantage of Filoni’s exit due to injury. After thirty minutes of play Trapani is up 70-59.
FOURTH QUARTER
The gap widens further, with the red and white starting to feel tired: Trapani runs away definitively dragged by the defensive play of Mollura and the points of Mobio and Pullazi, and limiting Assigeco to just ten points scored in the quarter. The match ends 90-69.
Trapani Shark – UCC Assigeco Piacenza 90-69
(23-19; 23-21; 24-19; 20-10)
Shark drills: Matteo Imbrò 3 (0/1, 1/3), JD Notae 14 (4/6, 2/5), Fabio Mian 3 (0/1, 1/5), Amar Alibegovic 7 (2/5, 1/ 3), Chris Horton 10 (5/8 from two); Stefano Gentile 4 (1/2, 0/2), Pierpaolo Marini 11 (3/4, 1/1), Marco Mollura 6 (2/2, 0/5), Joseph Mobio 20 (3/6, 4/4 ), Rei Pullazi (0/1, 4/4), Fabrizio Pugliatti (0/1 from two). Coach: Andrea Diana (assistants: Daniele Quilici, Alex Latini).
UCC Assigeco Piacenza: Gherardo Sabatini 7 (2/5, 1/2), Niccolò Filoni 3 (0/2, 1/2), Giovanni Veronesi 15 (3/6, 2/10), Michele Serpilli 13 (1/3, 3/ 6), Brady Skeens 14 (6/8 from two); Filippo Gallo 0 (0/1, 0/2), Federico Bonacini 4 (2/6, 0/2), Lorenzo Querci 6 (0/1, 2/2), Ursulo D’Almeida 7 (2/2 from two ). Ne: Matteo Gherardini, Umberto Manzo, Pietro Angeletti. Coach: Stefano Salieri (assistants: Humberto Manzo, Alessandro Susino).
SALIERI STATEMENTS
“Before commenting on the match I wanted to join in the condolences for Corrado Pellanera, a great figure in basketball who passed away in recent days. I think what concerns the match speaks for itself: I congratulate Trapani, who played a great match, we held out until 57-57 then all their talent came out, they are one of the strongest teams of the last years. As a negative point, I mention the free throws (10/20 overall). As long as we had clarity we remained in the game, then we took the break in the last quarter and were no longer able to recover, also thanks to an excellent defense by Trapani. For the following matches we will have to understand our mistakes and use them as an opportunity for growth.”
