A moving Assigeco failed to conquer the Pala Shark in Trapani, with the hosts winning 69-61 and going up 2-0 in the series. Despite the defeat, coach Salieri’s boys play a superlative open game, even reaching +13 in the first half of the match, and are good at taking advantage of the Sicilians’ escape attempt in the third quarter, forcefully coming back behind in the final part of the match, and then try until the end to definitively recover the result. The great performances of Skeens (10 points and 14 rebounds) and Veronesi (18 points) were not enough for the red and white. The series now moves to Piacenza: race 3 will take place on Friday evening at 8.30pm at the PalaBanca.
FIRST QUARTER
Piacenza opens with a 0-4 scored by Serpilli-Skeens, then Trapani responds with four points in a row from Alibegovic. The defenses work well and little is scored at the start of the match, but a bomb from Veronesi and two points on the counterattack from Sabatini force coach Diana to stop the match after less than five minutes of play. Veronesi again from three, Alibegovic dunks in the air and drives Pala Shark crazy, but on the other side Sabatini is no exception as he fans a winning chocolate for Serpilli. Marini and Mobio put it back under the grenade, Serpilli responds from beyond the arc, and Mollura’s bomb closes the first quarter at 14-17.
SECOND QUARTER
Mollura still on target from six and seventy-five, but Assigeco is present and responds with a partial score of 0-12 signed by Skeens, Bonacini and Gallo. Alibegovic scores two more points, as does D’Almeida, and the red and white manage to maintain the double-digit lead in the following minutes before the hosts’ 8-0 run led by the Notae-Horton duo, which sends the two teams to the locker rooms at 33-39.
THIRD FOURTH
Alibegovic opens the second half of the match with four straight points, but Skeens is not far behind, then Imbrò and Horton bring Trapani back to -2 but Serpilli doesn’t miss the correction. The Granatas begin to tighten their defense and increase the engine speed in attack: the result is a 12-0 run which allows them to close the third quarter ahead 53-45, leaving the red and white attack dry for five minutes of game.
FOURTH QUARTER
With a Veronesi on the shields, coach Salieri’s boys move to -1, but the Granata lift their foot on the accelerator again and combine an 11-0 partial with the contribution of the two big men Alibegovic and Horton together with Imbrò, closed to three minutes from the end from Gallo’s penetrating dunk for 65-55. The red and whites try everything to impact the match again but Trapani resists the sieges and also takes home game 2 with a score of 69-61.
Trapani Shark – UCC Assigeco Piacenza 69-61
(14-17; 19-22; 20-6; 16-16)
Shark drills: Matteo Imbrò 8 (1/3, 2/7), JD Notae 7 (2/3, ¼), Fabio Mian 0 (0/1 from three), Amar Alibegovic 15 (6/6, 0/3), Chris Horton 16 (8/10, two); Pierpaolo Marini 7 (1/6, 1/3), Joseph Mobio 3 (0/3, ½), Stefano Gentile 2 (1/6, 0/1), Rei Pullazi 3 (1/3 from three), Marco Mollura 8 (0/3, 2/2). Ne: Fabrizio Pugliatti, Veljko Dancetovic. Coach: Andrea Diana (assistants: Daniele Quilici, Alex Latini).
Assigeco Piacenza: Gherardo Sabatini 2 (1/4, 0/4), Niccolò Filoni 0 (0/2, 0/1), Giovanni Veronesi 18 (1/5, 5/13), Michele Serpilli 11 (3/5, 1/ 4), Brady Skeens (5/7 from two); Filippo Gallo 8 (1/1, 2/5), Federico Bonacini 12 (1/4, 2/6), Lorenzo Querci 0 (0/2 from three), Ursulo D’Almeida 2 (1/4 from two). Ne: Matteo Gherardini, Umberto Manzo, Pietro Angeletti. Coach: Stefano Salieri (assistants: Humberto Manzo, Alessandro Susino).
SALIERI STATEMENTS
“I just have to congratulate my players, because against such a strong team like Trapani we led and played the game. We made the most of the errors in game 1, especially in setting the pace, then I complain a lot about the change in the refereeing meter in the third quarter which directed a game that was very balanced and which did not protect us: we did not lose because of this , but things must be said clearly, when there is no fairness of judgment it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Congratulations to Trapani, they won a difficult match by recovering an important advantage, and this is synonymous with a great team. Now we have to reset everything, we want to have a great match 3 in Piacenza, putting all our qualities on the field. The club and the staff deserve to close the season in the best possible way, and who knows, even reopen the series, because we are going with that mentality as has happened in the past.”
