Now there is also the opponent: Virtus Ragusa is playing for access to the National Serie B in a best-of-three series against Infodrive Capo d’Orlando. Coach Bolignano’s team overcame Molfetta’s resistance, winning the game 69-61. Ragusa, on the other hand, had eliminated Power Salerno in two matches, the last of which was away last Wednesday.
The Sicilian derby will take place from next Sunday, when race 1 will be played at the PalaInfoDrive. Orlandina will be able to enjoy the advantage of home advantage thanks to the ranking obtained at the end of the Play-Ins, in which they prevailed over Virtus (despite having obtained the same points) by virtue of the seasonal direct clashes. The Paladins, in fact, prevailed on both occasions: in the first leg, at PalaPadua, they prevailed 68-65 with 22 points from Jasaitis (but it was only October 22nd, with both teams fully tested); on the return leg, after a game on the edge of balance, Capo d’Orlando had won 74-66. In the other previous season, valid for the semifinal of the Sicilian Cup, Ragusa won 69-62 (against PalaCus in Catania).
What begins next Sunday is a completely different story. Capo d’Orlando plays the first at home, but reaches the final with two more games under its belt, having won in game 3 against both Molfetta and Messina, in the quarterfinals. Virtus, on the other hand, had a less bumpy path against Milazzo and Salerno, even if from this moment on everything is reset. The calendar includes race 2 at PalaPadua for Wednesday 5 June, at 8.30pm. For the eventual “good” team we will return to Capo d’Orlando on Sunday 9th. Whoever wins the series enters directly into National B, while for the loser there still remains an opportunity: that is, the play-off (always the best of three games) with the finalist loser of the Conference Italia Centro, which one of the two Sicilians will face, however, with the advantage of home advantage. But it is still too early to think about plan B.
