Venice, 5 May 2024 – At Taliercio in Mestre the curtain falls for Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro which bids farewell to the top flight after 16 consecutive years of stay. At the end of the match, the numerous Pesaro supporters who flocked to Venice did not hesitate to communicate their disappointment with the choices made by the red and white management. The same, shortly afterwards, issued a press release in which it bid farewell to Serie A and raised high hopes for the future.
As for the match… the physical gap between the two teams affected the final result who smiled broadly at the lagoon team. Pesaro holds out for 20 minutes then in the third quarter he collapsed under the bombs of the Venice shooters and the physicality of Tucker and Kabengele. For the lagoon players the regular season ends with a good performance in front of their fans before the big commitment of the playoffs and a confirmed fourth place in the standings.
While for the Marche region the season and the era of the Costa presidency ends in the worst way possible, that is, relegation to the cadet series. After Brindisi, Pesaro is the second team that will abandon Serie A to head to A2.
THE MATCH
Coach Spahija initially sends the following quintet to the parquet: Spissu, Casarin, Kabengele, Simms and Tucker. Pesaro counters with McDuffie, Bluiett, Tambone, Cinciarini and Mazzola.
The first quarter sees the balance tip for Venice. After 5 minutes of substantially balanced play, Simms increased the pace of his players, bringing Venezia up to +12. The line and the baskets of that tightrope walker by Wright-Foreman allow Pesaro to close the first half at -7. 27-20 after 10 minutes of play.
In the second ten minutes the Pesaro reaction arrives. A scoreboard support from Ford on an assist from Love and a three-point play (basket + foul) from Visconti bring the guests back to -2 and force Venezia to call a timeout. In the 15th minute De Nicolao scores from the line and Parks scores the +6.
Wright-Foreman shakes VL with a triple that triggers a domino effect. Followed by two jumpers from Bluiett and Cinciarini who even the score (40-40) with the home team. A basket from beyond the arc by Bluiett and two free throws by Simms end the hostilities of the first half. We go to the long break with Pesaro leading by two points (42-44).
Upon returning to the field, after the break in the changing rooms, Venezia literally sinks the crew led by coach Sacchetti, forcing Pesaro to raise the white flag.
Suffice it to say that in the first 5 minutes of play of the third quarter the partial in favor of the Orogranata team was 18-2. For Pesaro it is McDuffie who keeps up appearances and breaks the devastating breaks in Venice. The lagoon players are irrepressible and manage to find baskets both under the boards and from the arc. Pesaro does what it can but it seems that everything turns in Venice’s favor. Wright-Foreman and McDuffie try to patch things up but Simms’ two bombs at the end of the half effectively close the game. (77-55)
The last quarter is only useful for statistics. Reyer manages the match and keeps the Pesaro team at a safe distance with Casarin and Tessitori. Wright-Foreman, McDuffie and Love try to save what can be saved, but the gap is too wide and the minutes pass quickly.
Venice beats Pesaro 91-79 and condemns the Marche team to the A2 series.
SCORESHEETS
Umana Reyer Venezia – Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro 91 – 79 (27-20; 15-24; 35-11; 14-24)
HIGHLIGHTS
PRESSROOM
Coach Spahija Neven to the microphones of the Taliercio press room.
Congratulations to the team for the final result. Despite the tactical changes during the match, we played very well against a team like Pesaro that had to save itself. It is very important that none of our players are injured ahead of the next playoffs. The playoffs are a new championship and to face them we must be mentally strong.
Meo Sacchetticoach of Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro, comments on the defeat against Venezia
If we talk about physicality… we managed to recover in the first half, we started the second suffering from their better quality, in addition to the fact that we made few baskets.
Coming to play for salvation in Venice is not easy.
