The first play-off match of Power Basket Salerno takes place at PalaSilvestri, hosting the strong-willed team from Reggio Calabria: Viola MyEnergy.
Power arrives at the appointment with all the elements of the roster fully recovered and ready to attempt the attack on the national Serie B. The journey begins from here, with the public for special occasions (the mayor Vincenzo Napoli and the councilor for the environment Massimiliano Natella were also present in the pre-match) with the stadium packed beyond any seating order.
The chronicle of an intense match (85-74), but well managed by Farabello’s troops
As in the last meeting between the two teams, this time too Salerno starts better with two well-orchestrated baskets. Reggio’s coach immediately calls a timeout, which is quite unusual considering that just 80 seconds have passed. the play-off atmosphere can be felt both in the stands and on the pitch, with both teams struggling to produce and find quick solutions, playing under the 24-second limit. Power always stays ahead but can’t find the lead. An extremely long action is emblematic with two offensive rebounds earned and not properly finalized by Zanini, who misses the easiest of the uncontested supports. The first quarter is a riot of free throws and the scoreboard, at the end of the first 10 minutes, reads 18-14 for the home team. Reggio Calabria puts in a lot of athleticism but the percentages are disastrous.
After the mini-break, from center to center, first Mavaric and then Duranti place one triple after the other. Power maintains the lead and extends with Manisi who finds a nice shot from the arc and then from mid-range, both assisted by Nick Mei. Power’s maximum advantage (26-17) was immediately reduced by a quick basket in transition and Aguzzoli’s triple. Maksimovic takes care of further shortening the gap, finishing well from the arc. Important partial by Reggio Calabria and, in the end, the overtaking comes and the guests’ first advantage: 26-27 at 5:19, Farabello time-out. Partial 10-0 for Reggio and everything to do again for the yellow-blues. The game was played point by point but right at the end of the first half Power’s new lead came thanks to triples from Ani and Mei and the support of Zanini’s iron.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, Reggio returns to push and push forward, thanks to the cold hands of the boys coached by Mr. Farabello. We always play on the edge of balance and every time Power finds the extension, Viola gets back under her thanks to a more than generous amount of free throws. With just under three minutes left in the third quarter, Power leads 52-50. Reggio hits the ball with two more complimentary free throws from the refereeing pair and captain Lucas Cháves has to take care of restoring the advantage to Power’s side, with two nice baskets in sequence. We go to the final break at 58-54.
The last fraction is full of controversy. Power maintains the lead but at 6:44 the home team has already spent all the fouls available and the referee couple senselessly punishes Basile with a technical for protests. The point-to-point match continues and the hero you don’t expect takes over: Bozo Misolic. The Power center, often fluctuating in the regular season and in the play-ins, scores six points in quick succession and grabs vital rebounds from both sides of the court. 69-62 halfway through the last quarter and inertia in favor of Power. This time MyEnergy can’t make it, having reached the end of its physical and mental strength. Power smells blood and bites into Game 1, increasing the pace and closing the ranks of the defense. The match is closed by Basile, Ani (game of 4) and further triples by Mei and captain Chaves. Reggio Calabria pulls out the stops when there’s still a minute left to play. A long standing ovation begins which continues beyond the siren which decrees the end of game 1 with the final score of 85-74 for the home team. Power is there and wins as expected, with a solid performance, with few moments of real difficulty.
The match scores: Power with lots of guns. The young Aguzzoli is a thorn in my side
Power Basketball Salerno – Chaves 18, Mei 17, Misolic 15, Ani 14, Duranti 8, Basile 6, Manisi 5, Zanini 2, Favaretto, Zampa, Gorga ne, Martorello ne
Viola MyEnergy Reggio Calabria – Aguzzoli 21, Tyrtyshnyk 17, Mavric 10, Maksimovic 9, Simonetti 9, Seck 8, Cessel, Konteh, Bonelli ne, Russo ne
The keys to the match: too much Power for a Reggio team with intensity, but of a lower level
As expected, the rhythm and dynamics of the play-offs prove to be different compared to the regular season. Here, you cannot make a mistake more than once, under penalty of elimination and the end of your promotion dream. And in this, both Power and Reggio felt the pressure, especially at the beginning, with cold and heavy hands that were unable to find the basket, except from the free throw line.
However, the technical gap between the two teams was immediately noticed. Power, especially when led by Captain Chaves, has many more strings to its bow. On this occasion, among other things, Bozo Misolic’s work under the basket, in the low post, was added, in which he usually fails to have an impact from a scoring point of view. With a large amount of solutions, MyEnergy had to use, needless to say, all the energy at its disposal, however arriving at the last quarter practically exhausted. That’s where Farabello’s Power puts the arrow and, in similar athletic conditions, it shows all its superiority. The +11 reflects the difference in values on the pitch. Looking at the statistics, the difference in turnovers (Reggio lost a lot, including steals and unforced errors) was crucial, having allowed Power to obtain a significant number of extra possessions. Great credit, however, to Reggio Calabria, which kept the result in the balance for almost the entire match, and applause to the fans who came from over 400km away to support Viola.
The MVP you don’t expect
If captain Lucas Chaves usually takes care of solving it, for this game 1 the real hero, probably the least expected, was the center of Power Bozo Misolic. A practically perfect fourth quarter on both sides of the pitch, with an extraordinary amount of rebounds and points scored. Added to this is a simply superlative work in rim protection: even with a very severe referee’s judgment, like the one seen yesterday, Bozo managed to defend cleanly and avoid any possible desire for the Viola to return.
The comment of coach Farabello and Uchenna Ani
Overall, a good match from the entire roster, even if Farabello commented, at the end of the match, how some things didn’t go the right way.
“Not our best match – comments coach Farabello at the end of the match – we made a few too many mistakes but we managed to find the right plays in critical moments. In this victory, the field factor played a big role, which earned us the Gold Play-Ins. Now game 2 awaits us on an equally hot field and we will be ready.”
. For the offensive phase, as always, captain Chaves stands out (who gives a huge amount of assists), Nick Mei (today even more energetic and mobile than usual) and Ani (reached top physical form and author of the four-point play that kills the game ). Power forward Uchenna Ani himself commented on how it was a “tough match from the start, very foul but it was the details that made the difference in our favour”. Important victory, now focus on the Reggio Calabria match to get through to the next round.”
