A moment of the race
© Facebook photo, Faenza Blacks
Faenza – The playoffs are a part of the season characterized by the dominance of defenses over attacks. This, without a doubt, is true. But the attacks in this game 3 were particularly cumbersome, and the percentages were eye-watering. Data isn’t everything, but sometimes it’s striking: Akern, after a good first quarter, scored a paltry two points in the entire second half, and despite this, they went into the break tied. This says a lot about the type of match that was played at Pala Cattani. The third quarter seems like a photocopy of the one played in game 2: Faenza pushes on the accelerator, reaching +9. But nothing can be said about this LL, which certainly left something to be desired from some points of view. On an evening in which Fratto and Ricci completely fail, all the experience of Williams, Saccaggi and Fantoni comes to the fore. They were the baskets of the comeback, in particular Saccaggi’s triple that put the Amaranths back in the lead at 52 to 53 with 6 minutes remaining. Little was scored, as was the case throughout the match; a nice penetration by Williams gives Libertas a 4 point lead. It is the Dutch point guard himself who, however, commits a foul in the next action, sending Vico to the line who shortens. It is the fifth of the Dutch point guard, who leaves room for Ricci. Bargnesi responds for the new +4, but 4 points from Papa restore the balance. Fantoni scores a great basket, but Vico responds with a champion triple. Faenza is on +1 and the ball is in the hands of the guests. Ricci commits a foul in attack, it is the fifth for him too which leaves room for Saccaggi. It’s getting very tough for Akern. Vico, evidently confident, takes an off-balance shot that goes wrong, amaranth rebound and the ball goes to Saccaggi. The Carrarina guard has ice in his veins, and he proves it once again. He attacks the rim and places two on the backboard with two seconds left. Faenza calls a timeout but on the throw-in Tozzi stops the Neroverdi’s attempt. It’s a celebration for the 250 libertassians who arrived on the trip. The heart-pounding finale rewarded Libertas, who will now play game 4 (Sunday at 6pm, again in Faenza) to try to close it out. In the worst case scenario, the series will return to the Pala Macchia for game 5.
Blacks Faenza – Akern Libertas Livorno 63 to 64 (16-21, 7-2, 26-19, 14-22)
Blacks Faenza: Sebastian Vico 19 (2/7, 2/6), Jessie Begarin 11 (3/7, 1/3), Giovanni Poggi 10 (3/6, 0/2), Francesco Papa 9 (3/8, 1/2), Giacomo Siberna 6 (1/2, 1/2), Andrea Pastore 4 (0/0, 1/4), Mitchell Poletti 2 (1/2, 0/1), Marco Petrucci 2 (1/ 5, 0/1), Luca Galassi 0 (0/2, 0/2), Pietro Ballarin 0 (0/0, 0/0), Giacomo Naccari 0 (0/0, 0/0), Luca Bendandi 0 ( 0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 17 / 23 – Rebounds: 36 4 + 32 (Giovanni Poggi, Giacomo Siberna, Mitchell Poletti 6) – Assists: 14 (Andrea Pastore 6)
Akern Libertas Livorno: Andrea Bargnesi 13 (2/3, 1/4), Leon Williams 12 (2/2, 2/3), Tommaso Fantoni 12 (4/6, 0/0), Andrea Saccaggi 11 (1/3 , 3/7), Luca Tozzi 8 (4/7, 0/3), Francesco Fratto 3 (0/5, 1/5), Antonello Ricci 3 (0/3, 1/7), Gregorio Allinei 2 (0 /0, 0/5), Dorin Buca 0 (0/0, 0/0), Nicola Vicenzini 0 (0/0, 0/0), Federico Madeo 0 (0/0, 0/0), Jacopo Lucarelli 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 14 / 15 – Rebounds: 44 10 + 34 (Luca Tozzi 12) – Assists: 14 (Andrea Bargnesi 5)
