Splendid victory by Famila Wuber Schio which in a sold out PalaRomare dominates the Passalacqua Ragusa by 76-51 and wins game 1 of the championship semi-final series, thus guaranteeing the first match point on Wednesday at PalaMinardi. Thanks to an excellent approach to the match in the first and second half, the Italian champions cornered a dull Ragusa who probably paid for the extra effort in Game 3 of the quarter-finals played on Wednesday at the Segafredo Arena. In fact, the best Sicilian players (Chidom, Juskaite and Thomas) score just 17 points overall. Different story for Famila who sent Juhasz, Guirantes, Sottana and Parks to double figures.
An excellent first half – Devastating start for the Orange who in four minutes put together a 13-2 run with an extraordinary Guirantes author of two triples. Coach Lardo’s timeout, together with the substitutions, had the desired effects because Passalacqua now punished with precision from distance, scoring 4 triples out of 6 attempts and bringing the Sicilians back to just one possession away. Schio however manages to keep their head ahead with points from Sottana and Reisingerova who close the first quarter at 19-16.
The second half also opens with an important break from the Sled team who, led by Sottana, Juhasz and Guirantes, increase their maximum lead to +13 (32-19 with the Puerto Rican’s third triple of the evening). Passalacqua shows signs of tiredness, often committing a foul which sends the Orange to the line, shooting 7/8 with the clock stopped. Juskaite finds the first points of his evening in the last bars of the quarter but the final exclamation point belongs to Parks who scores the triple to make it 41-25.
Small jolt in the third quarter – As in the first half, once again the Orange press hard on the accelerator upon returning to the field and in just three minutes they moved up to +20 thanks to Reisingerova’s work in the low post. In the moment of maximum difficulty, Jakubcova plays the charge for him and opens a 12-0 break that brings Passalacqua back under the double-digit deficit: in the middle, Pastrello’s triple and an unsportsmanlike strike by Sottana to stop a counterattack. Likewise, Famila Wuber also wakes up from the blackout and scores a mirror-like 12-0 led by Sottana who, between the two quarters, scores 8 consecutive points. The match is now on ice for Schio and, precisely for this reason, what happens in the 33rd minute leaves everyone dismayed: Reisingerova scores but, on the foul contact with Jakubcova, hits her back on the LEDs: she comes out walking with difficulty, it should only be one strong bruise but his health status will be assessed in the next few days: Ragusa also loses Juskaite due to injury in the last quarter. The game ends 76-51 and Famila Wuber takes a 1-0 lead in the series.
Famila Wuber Schio – Passalacqua Ragusa 76-51 (19-16, 41-25, 56-39)
Famila Wuber Schio: Juhasz 16, Bestagno 3, Sottana 15, Verona 5, Guirantes 15, Mutterle ne, Crippa 3, Parks 11, Keys 0, Reisingerova 8
Passalacqua Ragusa: Thomas 6, Spreafico 6, Di Fine 0, Milazzo 3, Salice 0, Jakubcova 11, Pastrello 3, Juskaite 5, Miccoli 8, Chidom 6, Nikolic 3
