Between Wegreenit Urania Milan And Tezenis Verona the balance continues within this beautiful series. After the two overtimes of G1, after the tense nerves of G2, it is Bartoli who decides a G3 once again decided at the last second. Landi’s error from the line gives Urania only a 2-point lead with 7″ to go, with Verona having run out of timeouts. Penna goes all over the field, doubled and catches the bigger of the two brothers who is deadly from the corner.
The third episode of the series lives without major tears either on one side or the other, Verona stays ahead for a long time but Urania mends blow after blow, having little from Potts, shooting badly from 3 (6/28) but catching another great evening from Landi and a Beverly with 19 and 8 rebounds.
Verona has a normal Buva, 14 points, but a well-rounded Penna, top scorer with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 fouls suffered.
Saturday G4, win or go home for Villa’s troops.
Starting quintets
Wegreenit Urania Milan: Amato, Potts, Severini, Lupusor, Beverly
Tezenis Verona: Penna, Esposito, Udom, Gajic, Buva
First quarter
Buva starts exactly as he finished the first two races: making a basket. They immediately patch up Amato and Beverly, making passes under the basket. Esposito scores the first triple of the evening, Buva again gives the maximum advantage at 4-11, Urania immediately calls a timeout from the bench. Potts tries to enter the game by attacking the area, reaching the end. Stefanelli and Montano exchange complex baskets, but Bartoli’s attack on the back results in a highway up to the Milanese iron, closing the quarter on the 10-15 guest.
Second quarter
Two baskets from Udom and a placed shot from Bartoli put Urania at -12, with Villa taking the second timeout.
Useless though, because Urania returns to the field very badly, with two more easy baskets scored by the guests (partial 0-14). Two free throws from Potts are needed to stop Milan’s offensive drip. Udom tries to get into trouble on his own with his second foul, but Verona remains at a safe distance despite Amato’s free throws. Penna’s eurostep, to be exhibited at the museum, double Urania:16-35 with 3′ to go. Beverly goes to heaven on the assistance of the Milanese playmaker, and the big USA rolls again, also suffering a foul from Esposito, 5 points that give air to Davide Villa’s troops.
However, Amato derails among the yellow and blue jerseys, leaving little space for the Venetian transition finalized by Bartoli (already at 10). Severini keeps Urania afloat with the bomb 24-39.
Third fourth
Buva immediately rewards the backdoor of Esposito, Potts does the same with Beverly’s cut. Potts himself attacks the Veronese defensive change, reaching the rim. On Beverly’s second basket Ramagli has had enough: timeout after just under 2′.
Udom closes the Milan mini-partial with a free throw, Amato scores the first triple of the evening, Udom himself imitates him. Potts landslides on Penna, reaching his third solo. The Veronese point guard is unstoppable when he shifts into high gear, luckily for Urania there is Beverly to reach double figures. Udom’s second bomb in the quarter, taking advantage of meters of space, brings Verona back to +15. Severini scores a triple from the corner with a very high difficulty quotient, even with Esposito’s foul. On the other side again Beverly cancels Murphy’s attempt, all nullified however by Amato’s attacking foul. Lupusor’s 3-point play fuels Urania’s positive momentum, bringing his team to the lead 44-50. Providential rebounding pen in attack, literally collected from the garbage. The siren at the end of the period embraces the attempt of Amato, who kisses the table and bags for the 46-54 at 30′.
Fourth quarter
This time it’s Potts who burns the siren, with only 6 tenths of a second on the clock: Urania 6 points behind. Bonacini also attacks like there’s no tomorrow, Verona’s defense is anything but on point and the partial continues further. The top/bottom Murphy Buva brings dividends to the yellow-blue attack, Amato smells blood and makes the front triple for -5: second Ramagli timeout.
Penna again attacking the baseline, Lupusor’s help is late: fourth foul and three-point play completed. Buva also gets his fourth personal penalty, proving to be a bit dull by leaving two free throws on the rim. However, the Croatian big man is a factor in every sense: from zero meters he misses the support on the scoreboard, earning another trip to the line due to Landi’s foul. The 2/2 the next time he gives Tezenis a double-digit lead again, followed by the first Urania timeout.
On the way out, the Urania attack builds to perfection, catching Landi only in the corner for the first basket of the evening. However, Buva always found himself in the right place with the right timing. Stefanelli breaks through on Amato, a few too many words to the referees lead to the technician (fifth staff), the omelette is completed by fade away by Beverly: 60-65 entering the 2′. Verona is in a prolonged breakdown, building nothing in attack and conceding vital rebounds at the other end of the pitch.
Then Murphy also commits a foul on Beverly’s push, another 3 Urania points. The hosts fly across the parquet, Amato doubled and catches Landi free at the tip: another triple, now it is overtaking Milan, 66-65. The exit from the timeout was disastrous for the guests, with Penna dribbling on one foot and losing the ball. On the systematic foul Landi scores 2/2, Penna with the same script. It’s Landi who shuffles the cards with an error, Penna goes all over the field and finds Bartoli in the corner: only goal and Verona regains the field factor.
Final scores
Wegreenit Urania Milano: Beverly 19, Amato 12, Landi 12, Potts 8, Lupusor 7, Severini 7, Montano 2, Bonacini 2, Piunti, Anchisi ne, Solimeno ne, Cavallero ne
Tezenis Verona: Penna 16, Buva 14, Bartoli S. 13, Udom 12, Esposito 8, Stefanelli 5, Gajic 2, Gazzotti, Murphy, Bartoli V., Mbacke ne
