Game four of the promotion playoff quarter-final between UCC Assigeco Piacenza and Trapani Shark was played today and after what happened on Friday evening it was a sort of litmus test for the Sicilian team leading 2-1 in the series. Too many three games with a soft approach, too many three games chasing a willing and very generous Piacenza for a long time, a game from the top of the class was needed, decisive, authoritarian, eager to take game four and close the series without further delay.
And so it was. Trapani won 68-85 closing the series at 3-1.
Piacenza started with Gallo, Querci, Veronesi, Serpilli and Skeens, Trapani responded with Gentile, Notae, Mollura, Alibegovic and Horton, but this time, beyond the small changes in the starting quintet, Trapani started concentrated and, after the Piacenza’s initial 4-0, halfway through the first quarter, gave the first boost with two consecutive triples from Imbrò. This time Piacenza, unlike Garatre, did not score impossible baskets and struggled against Trapani’s defense which produced steals that turned into baskets. The 19-29 with which the first quarter ends is practically the break that will prove decisive for the match and for the series. After the first quarter, Trapani in fact controlled with great authority, always keeping Piacenza at a distance, without ever giving it the chance to get much closer. Matteo Imbrò’s management was excellent and he had one of the best matches of the season, but Amar Alibegovic, one of the most overshadowed in the match, was also more than positive and probably the best on the pitch for the Sharks. Chris Horton hit his fourth consecutive double-double and only eight turnovers prevented him from being the best on the court.
In the last quarter Piacenza, exhausted, pulled out the stops and Trapani almost took the lead, but it was probably too much. Five men scored double figures for the Sharks: Alibegovic at 22, Horton at 18, Imbrò at 16, Notae at 11 and Gentile at 10. For Piacenza this time Veronesi stopped at 16 and Querci returned to his seasonal figures (5 points). Double figures only for Serpilli (13) and Skeens (14).
On Saturday he returns to the pitch at the Pala Shark, it will be time for the semi-finals and the opponent has already been designated: they will be played against Verona who eliminated Milan in their series by beating Allianz Cloud twice.
UCC Assigeco Piacenza – Trapani Shark 68-85 (19-29, 20-19, 19-21, 10-16)
UCC Assigeco Piacenza: Giovanni Veronesi 16 (1/3, 2/8), Brady Skeens 14 (5/8, 0/0), Michele Serpilli 13 (2/4, 3/5), Ursulo D’almeida 8 (3 /4, 0/0), Filippo Gallo 6 (3/5, 0/1), Lorenzo Querci 5 (1/1, 1/3), Federico Bonacini 4 (1/2, 0/3), Gherardo Sabatini 2 (1/2, 0/3), Milos Joksimovic 0 (0/0, 0/0), Matteo Gherardini 0 (0/0, 0/0), Niccolo Filoni 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 16 / 25 – Rebounds: 27 11 + 16 (Michele Serpilli 7) – Assists: 19 (Gherardo Sabatini 8)
Trapani Shark: Amar Alibegovic 22 (7/10, 2/4), Chris Horton 18 (9/11, 0/0), Matteo Imbro 16 (2/2, 4/5), JD Notae 11 (4/6, 1/4), Stefano Gentile 10 (3/4, 0/1), Pierpaolo Marini 5 (1/2, 0/1), Fabio Mian 3 (0/2, 1/5), Marco Mollura 0 (0/ 1, 0/2), Rei Pullazi 0 (0/0, 0/3), Joseph Yantchoue Mobio 0 (0/1, 0/1), Fabrizio Pugliatti 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 9 / 13 – Rebounds: 31 13 + 18 (Chris Horton 13) – Assists: 15 (Matteo Imbro, JD Notae 5)
