Trieste Basketball – Unieuro Forlì 85-68 (19-11, 23-23, 22-19, 21-15)
Trieste Basketball: Eli jameson Brooks 18 (4/8, 2/7), Francesco Candussi 15 (6/6, 1/3), Ariel Filloy 14 (2/5, 3/7), Michele Ruzzier 13 (2/5 , 3/7), Leo Menalo 10 (0/0, 3/4), Giovanni Vildera 4 (1/4, 0/0), Lodovico Deangeli 4 (2/4, 0/1), Stefano Bossi 4 (1 /2, 0/1), Giancarlo Ferrero 3 (0/0, 1/2), Luca Campogrande 0 (0/0, 0/0), Danny Camporeale 0 (0/0, 0/0), Matteo Rolli 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 10 / 15 – Rebounds: 34 11 + 23 (Giovanni Vildera 13) – Assists: 23 (Michele Ruzzier 11)
Unieuro Forlì: Daniele Cinciarini 23 (6/10, 3/7), Federico Zampini 18 (3/3, 3/5), Xavier Johnson 10 (4/10, 0/2), Todor Radonjic 6 (0/1, 1/3), Daniele Magro 4 (2/3, 0/1), Luca Pollone 3 (0/1, 1/2), Fabio Valentini 2 (1/3, 0/2), Davide Pascolo 2 (1/ 5, 0/0), Maurizio Tassone 0 (0/0, 0/0), Michele Munari 0 (0/0, 0/0), Edoardo Zilio 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 10 / 16 – Rebounds: 33 8 + 25 (Xavier Johnson 11) – Assists: 9 (Federico Zampini 3)
Having completely reversed the field factor, Pallacanestro Trieste returns to the friendly walls of PalaTrieste for the third act of the playoff semi-final. Forlì has no alternative to victory to extend the series which qualifies for access to the final against the winner between Cantù and Udine. Campogrande returns to the disposal of coach Christian, who however has to give up Reyes.
Starting five Trieste: Ruzzier, Brooks, Menalo, Vildera, Candussi
Starting five Forlì: Zampini, Valentini, Pollone, Johnson, Pascolo
In a packed stadium, the ball kicks off the match, the first possession goes to the home team, today wearing the red jersey. The winning entry of Brooks gives the first internal advantage, the guests’ reply with Johnson is not effective, Ruzzier starts again in transition, double offensive rebound and winning half-hook by Candussi, who is fouled but doesn’t convert the and-one: Vildera pounces on the ball, the ball remains in the attacking zone, but the iron says no to Brooks. Forlì goes hunting for the first basket, without success; Ruzzier is already on the other side but without a shot being fired. The first guest points arrive with Zampini, who thus halves the disadvantage. Brooks plants the triple between the rim and the scoreboard, Menalo recovers the rebound and the ball remains once again in the Forlì area, where the visiting defense stops irregularly Brooks: clear path and score 6-2 after 2 and a half minutes. Forlì makes a mistake, Trieste makes a mistake, Johnson puts his best foot forward and hits from midrange. The crowd loudly pushes the red and whites, who try to increase the pace of the game. Ruzzier he invents an incoming floater and gives his team a two-possession advantage, while Candussi keeps good guard over Pascolo, but commits a foul in attack immediately afterwards. Unieuro is forward again, but doesn’t see the bottom of the retina, Trieste responds with Brooks, but the iron denies them joy; he thinks about it Candussi, who steals the ball and goes to the basket, soon imitated by Zampini. While the public is still waiting for the first triple of the day, Forlì tries to get closer, finding opposition from an excellent Trieste defense. Errors abound on both sides for a few minutes, until Johnson’s reverse lay-up on entry. Not even Filloy manages to hit from outside, the red and whites have wet powder and are seen caught up and overtaken by Cinciarini’s triple: Forlì is in front for the first time in the match. Brooks from the charity line he puts things back in order by making both free throws for 12-11 and immediately afterwards he steals the ball from Tassone and flies to the rim for the new +3. With the bonus exhausted Cinciarini commits a foul on Bossi, sending him to the line: 2/2 and score 16-11. The guests do not sting, the last attack of the fraction is for Brooks who at the siren scores the triple that gives Trieste the maximum lead, closing the first 10 minutes at 19-11.
Forlì starts the second quarter forward, Cinciarini’s triple stops on the rim and is recovered by Bossi who reaches the end, still earning the line due to a foul by Magro, but without converting the additional free throw. Forlì’s reaction passes through the hands of Cinciarini, who evades the defense and leans on the scoreboard. Vildera fails to score, on the reversal in front Deangeli commits a foul on Zampini shooting from the arc: 2/3 and Forlì goes back up by 5 at 21-15. Forlì increases the defensive pressure, especially on the ball carrier. Vildera recovers an offensive rebound and serves Ruzzier, which he scores from the arc. Another foul by Deangeli and another trip to the line for the guests, this time with Radonjic, who scores all three. After 2 and a half minutes the score is 24-18. Filloy sees the backdoor of Candussi who goes to the basket almost undisturbed; the immediate reply comes from Zampini, who scores from 6 and 75. The challenge between Radonjic and Candussi continues under the boards, while Forlì has some difficulty in finding comfortable passing lines. Johnson sends Bring it on on the line and the n°24 fouls his scout by missing the first, but hitting the second free throw. Unieuro is two full possessions away, but is unable to close the gap, which instead increases with the Ruzzier-Candussi exchange which brings the score to 29-21. Zampini earns two more free throws with Menalo’s foul: only one point comes from the charity line. The new red and white attack first sees the entry of Brooks with an error and a winning volley correction by Candussi. Zampini doesn’t give up and gets to the end, relaunching Valentini shortly after for a guest minibreak of 0-4. The reaction from Trieste was not long in coming and it was Candussi once again who clocked in following an assist from Ruzzier. The same n°13 commits a foul in an attempt to stop Johnson shooting for the basket: the line gives nothing to the guests, who witness the majestic exchange between Ruzzier and Brooks, who scores a triple of +10 (36-26). Cinciarini scores another basket from the paint, Trieste loses the ball, recovers it with Ruzzier and the consequent throw to Brooks It quickly becomes an assist, with the winning attack on the rim by the red jersey number 55. Forlì tries to come back, first with Valentini – without success – then with Cinciarini, stopped by Ferrero and sent to the charity line: 2/2 with a score of 38-30. Ruzzier is irrepressible, the pass for Vildera attracts the attention of Valentini, with an attached foul with the bonus exhausted: 1/2 from the line. Cinciarini doesn’t stop and drags his men along with the sound of baskets, he then thinks about it Ruzzier to push opponents back by shooting from the arc. Last remnants of the quarter, with Unieuro trying their last assault, finding two points with a nice move on Pascolo’s pivot foot. Brooks’ final attack doesn’t work and neither does Johnson’s final prayer, the teams go into halftime at 42-34.
We return to the parquet with the ball in Trieste’s hands, who closes the action with Brooks. Johnson imitates him immediately. The Vildera-axisCandussi produces another three points from the corner, while for Forlì the protagonist is Pollone, who scores from 6 and 75, keeping his team at -8. Exchange of turnovers and recoveries on the wire, then Ruzzier takes the defense for a walk, unloads out to Ferrero and that’s another three points for Trieste. Unieuro fails to score, the hosts instead continue seamlessly with another triple, this time from Ruzzier, served by Vildera. At -14 (53-39) coach Martino calls him back to the pine, but coming off the bench does not produce turnover. Trieste goes back forward, first Menalo and then Vildera make mistakes and the action ends. The Forlì team loses the ball, Ruzzier starts again at great speed, the ball reaches the corner Bring it onwho hits from 6 and 75. Cinciarini doesn’t give up and gets to the end, just like that Ruzzier soon after. Magro replies from the paint, defending himself well from the Trieste defenders. Brooks orchestrates, Menalo executes and there are another three points for the red and whites, who reach +18 (61-43). On the opposite front, Cinciarini does everything alone, slips into the Trieste defense and shoots to the basket, the home team’s reply is Filloy. A few too many lost balls and the scoreboard remains still for a few plays, until Radonjic’s triple which keeps his teammates’ hopes alive. Bossi serves Vildera excellently under the basket, Cinciarini’s foul puts him on the charity line: inside the first, outside the second, +16 Trieste. As we approach the end of the half, Trieste runs out of bonus, Forlì finds another three points with Cinciarini and finds itself back in the offensive phase with Johnson stopped for a foul by Vildera: with the game stopped, two free throws enter for Forlì, who goes back up to -11. The hosts no longer find the way to the basket, the last guest attack stops with Radonjic’s attacking foul and grants Trieste the last attack of the half with only 3.6″ to play: Bossi manages to shoot first of the siren, but the basket spits the ball out. At 30′ the score is 64-53, game still to be played.
The ball in the first possession goes to the guests, the action ends with a contest between Magro and Ruzzier, with the arrow rewarding the home team. Ruzzier’s triple stops on the rim, Magro misses the next attack and we return to the opposite front, where Filloy scores an important triple. Cinciarini is a driving force and continues to produce turnover from the arc, the subsequent red and white attack rewards the stubbornness of Vildera, applauded by the audience. Forlì doesn’t give up, Johnson recovers the rebound from Radonjic’s error and scores from underneath, at the other end it’s still Filloy to put in, this time from the middle. Zampini imitates his captain and scores from outside, but the gap remains in double figures, returning to +13 after the triple by Bring it on. Magro is not there and scores near the basket, Ruzzier gets the ball back and manages the new attack, suffering a block from Magro. Cinciarini scores again from 6 and 75, keeping Forlì in the game, which is now 8 points behind the red and whites (74-66). The public understands the moment of difficulty and raises its voice, thinks about it Filloy to take the chestnuts out of the fire by scoring a fundamental triple at this moment of the match. The Forlì attack doesn’t move the scoreboard, Trieste goes back forward and with 4’18” still to play they are the “hottest” Filloy to score +3 for the red and whites, with a time-out called by the visiting bench. Coach Martino protests excessively and is given a technical foul, with Filloy converting the resulting free throw. Cinciarini takes the Trieste rearguard for a walk and scores from the paint, the subsequent red and white attack is worth a splendid bounce pass no look from Ruzzier to Deangeli, who avoids his direct marker and puts the new +15 to the basket. Zampini looks for the two points, Brooks commits a foul and concedes the free throw line: 0/2 for Zampini and the score remains 83-68. The red and white orchestra plays in unison, still captain Deangeli to conclude the action positively. The guests are running out of fuel, there are about 2 minutes left when Trieste is at +17. The last round of clocks begins when Forlì restarts after Deangeli’s error, but no points arrive. In the final there is also room for Camporeale, while the clock continues to tick. The match ends with applause, Trieste also scores full points with Forlì and deservedly earns the final promotion.
TRIESTE BALL PRESS OFFICE
