The Unieuro Forlì leaves race 3 a They lived, at the end of a match played with very short rotations, due to Luca Pollone’s stop, and in front of an Elachem who showed a lot of intensity. The reaction of the red and whites was good as they closed from -20 in the last quarter to -9, but game 3 belongs to Vigevano. Coach Martino’s team pays 7/36 from long range, Xavier Johnson’s 19 are not enough. On the other side he puts 20 Ikea Smith. Series open at 2-1.
Elachem Vigevano – Unieuro Forlì (24-9; 20-16; 18-21; 14-21)
Elachem Vigevano: Rossi 5, Smith 20, Peroni 9, Leardini, Wideman 14, Bertetti 14, Battistini 11, Ceron, Bertoni, Strautmanis ne, Bettanti 3. Coaches: Lorenzo Pansa. Ass.: Bruni and Lazzarini.
Unieuro Forlì: Valentini 7, Zampini 7, Pollone ne, Johnson 19, Magro 2, Cinciarini 13, Pascolo 9, Radonjic 10, Tassone, Munari, Zilio ne, Borciu ne All.: Antimo Martino. Ass.: Fabrizi and Ruggeri.
The match. Difficult first half for the red and whites. After a complicated start with the 9-0 score scored by Smith, Forlì tries to react after coach Martino’s time out with 7’03” left in the first quarter. Upon returning to the field, the Romagna players found baskets from Zampini and Johnson and the first quarter ended 24-9. In the second 10′ of the game the red and whites closed the gap thanks to the plays of Cinciarini, Pascolo and Johnson, but the opponents pulled ahead again and sent the match to a long break at 44-25.
The second half opens with good initiatives from Pascolo and Zampini. Forlì then began to score continuously from the arc, with important shots from Cinciarini and Radonjic, but the opponents responded promptly. The last quarter begins with the reaction from the Romagna team who, with good play and a triple from Valentini at 6’58”, get to -9 behind the Lomellina team, who however do not concede anything more, once again pulling ahead of the red and whites. Forlì thus fails to complete the comeback and game 3 ends 76-67. Teams back on the field on Sunday 12 May, again in Vigevano, with a tap-off at 6.00 pm, while Trieste waits at the window to find out who their opponent will be in the semi-final.
