Logimatic Group Ozzano lasts for a while, in Game 1 of the 1st round of the National Serie B playoffs: Pallacanestro Virtus Padova certifies the victory with a partial score in the third quarter. The sound of the last siren, the scoreboard says 82-66 and gives an appointment to the red and white response in 48 hours, at the PalaBerta at 8.30 pm, for Game-2. Coach Conti opts for a starting five made up of Bechi in the low slot, with Abega, Cortese, Bastone and Filippini.
The game continues to flow in the first quarter, with the two teams not seeming to be affected by the delicate nature of the match: only two fouls when 5’40” have passed which sees Ozzano permanently in the lead. After the 8-2 – above all thanks to the two triples from a wild Cortese – Padova starts to pick up the pace, nibbling at the distance until 12-12 and the following first Venetian lead with three points from Cecchinato (17-16). Again, the red and white captain nails the third long shot personal distance for the counter-pass (19-17); hosts after 10′ who see the latter in front by three points.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Ozzano puts things right with a 4-0 run; Padova, having dealt the blows, equalizes the mini-score and goes back to +3 (31-28) when coach Conti calls a time-out. That doesn’t shuffle the cards: Virtus maintains command of the games as Ozzano did in the first quarter, without managing to escape. The three-point averages collapse for both, like the New Flying Balls when they have to face the first complicated moment of the series. Filippini’s injury weighs on the group from a mental point of view, and when the hosts try to escape at +5 (41-36), coach Conti tries to patch things up with the second time-out of the half . Not even time to forget Filippini’s stop as Bastone collapses after a clash: both return to the locker room, after 20′, on their own two feet, but Padova takes advantage once again to close on +5 (45-40).
Fortunately, for both of them there is nothing serious at the moment: coach Conti includes them in the quintet that returns to the field, rekindling the dispute that forces Ozzano to chase. Antelli-Checchinato-Ferrari – the latter two in double figures – sign the second mini-break in Veneto’s favor (51-44), the third triple from the usual Cecchinato is worth +12 (56-44) and the match reignites. Shot after shot, Cortese increasingly confirms his leadership under the basket (19 points in 24′), but Padova now has its foot on the accelerator. De Nicolao’s team also reaches +15 (64-49), and it is a distance that characterizes the final minutes of the third quarter. Logimatic lowers its percentage of achievement to 40.7%, Virtus begins to lay the foundations for the first victory with +17 that opens the last 10′.
Osellieri scores the seventh triple of the evening in Padua, then starting to play with the clock: Cortese and his teammates just have to start limiting the damage, hoping to find both Filippini and Bastone at 100% starting from Monday.
Virtus Padova Basketball vs Logimatic Group Ozzano 82-66 (27-24; 45-40; 70-53)
Logimatic Group Ozzano: Myers, Bechi 4, Bastone 17, Zambianchi ne, Martini 6, Terzi, Filippini 2, Cortese 20, Balducci, Piazza 3, Abega 14, Zanasi ne Coach: Conti
Virtus Pallacanestro Padova: Cecchinato 20, Schiavon, Molinaro 17, Cagliani ne, Padovani ne, Osellieri 3, Ferrari 12, Scanzi 14, Marchet ne, Bianconi 9, Antelli 7, Bedin ne Coach: De Nicolao
Referees: Suriano and Turello
Notes: 1Q 27-24; 2Q 18-16; 3Q 25-13; 4Q 12-13
