Benacquista Assicurazioni Latina – HDL Nardò Basket 79-85 (21-20, 21-24, 18-14, 16-18, 3-9)
Benacquista Assicurazioni Latina: Ivan Alipiev 18 (6/9, 2/7), Alexander Cicchetti 17 (4/7, 1/2), Gabriele Romeo 16 (6/8, 1/3), Samuele Moretti 12 (5/9 , 0/0), Demario Mayfield 9 (3/3, 1/8), Jacopo Borra 4 (1/7, 0/0), Felix Amo 3 (0/0, 1/4), Ziggy Collazo 0 (0 /0, 0/0), Salvatore Parrillo 0 (0/0, 0/0), Jacopo Rapetti 0 (0/0, 0/0), Maurizio Spadon 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 11 / 19 – Rebounds: 40 10 + 30 (Ivan Alipiev 10) – Assists: 23 (Demario Mayfield 9)
HDL Nardò Basket: Matteo Parravicini 23 (1/1, 7/14), Antonio Iannuzzi 19 (7/10, 0/0), Wayne Stewart jr 18 (5/9, 2/7), Russ Smith 8 (3/ 6, 0/5), Lorenzo Baldasso 6 (0/2, 2/6), Matteo Ferrara 4 (2/2, 0/0), Lazar Nikolic 3 (0/0, 1/4), Andrea La torre 2 (1/2, 0/2), Alessandro Ceparano 2 (1/1, 0/1), Andrea Donda 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 9 / 11 – Rebounds: 35 10 + 25 (Antonio Iannuzzi 11) – Assists: 23 (Russ Smith 14)
Mission accomplished. Dirty, painful and profitable performance, Nardò Basket wins on the Benacquista Assicurazioni Latina pitch and maintains a two-point lead over Chiusi. Who in the meantime gets rid of Cento who is already on holiday. But on Wednesday, Toro, welcoming the Tuscans in Lecce, has the possibility of match-ball.
Parravicini, Baldasso, La Torre, Stewart jr. and Iannuzzi make up the first guest quintet, no surprise. Balanced start, warm hands on both fronts. Parravicini and Baldasso hit from distance, Cicchetti and Amo respond with the same coin. At half time Ceparano came on for La Torre and Smith for Baldasso. Improves the grenade’s attacking game. The American from New York immediately stamps out of the area, then Stewart jr. goes into a slam dunk. We move forward point by point. The former Borra can also be seen in the ranks of the home team, immediately in the thick of the game. Two free throws from him keep Benacquista ahead at the end of the first quarter. It’s 21-20 at the first buzzer.
Dalmonte starts again with Nikolic in the control room. The first points come from a comfortable support from Ferrara. A terrible break of 12 points to 0 by Stewart jr. creates the first score of the match (21-32), Sacco immediately runs for cover with the time-out. Iannuzzi returns. Mayfield and Alipiev nibble on something, Nardò struggling with the usual ups and downs, this time it’s Dalmonte who calls the break. Alipiev again reduces his deficit to just 2 points (30-32), Parravicini returns. Stewart jr breaks the ice for Hdl. on the ball, but the best is Parravicini, who hits from the arc again. Moretti brings Benacquista back to just one point away (38-39), Toro pays for the chronic lack of continuity. We go to long break at 42-44.
Cicchetti immediately scores 44-44. But Parravicini, in a state of grace, scores his sixth bomb of the day. Toro gains a small margin again (44-52), then Iannuzzi makes two fouls in the space of a few seconds and Dalmonte sends him to the bench. Latina wastes a few too many possessions, Smith and Nikolic return. Nardò fails to make the decisive breakthrough and Benacquista comes back again (51-52) with a triple from Romeo, it’s the usual script. Hdl is terribly missing points from Russ Smith, who shows up with a winning central incursion and a shot at the end that gets him three free throws (2/3). The end of the third quarter is 60-58, a burst of pride is needed.
Parravicini scores the 3 points of the possible recovery, Stewart jr. he scores 2 more. Iannuzzi comes in to lend support, but Cicchetti scores with very appreciable regularity. Nardò’s grip on defense is slow, Latina finds points with every attack (69-68). Iannuzzi scores from below thanks to a nice assist from Smith, the axis concedes an encore a little later. The light of the American finally illuminates the Palasport of Latina, with 2’38” from the end Toro has a 3 point advantage. The number 3, however, has a sore thigh and is forced to sit on the bench. Moretti scores from below, Nardò fails to attack and Moretti scores again, overtaking (75-74) with 90 seconds left. Nikolic and Iannuzzi snatch two very heavy rebounds, following the developments Moretti sends Iannuzzi himself to the line (2/2 and 75-76). On the other side Cicchetti goes to free throws, making 1/2 and 76-76. Stewart jr. is wrong. and Alipiev, is additional (76-76). Infinite suffering.
Iannuzzi scores, winning yet another melee with Moretti. Stewart jr. from the arch draw the outlines of a dream. Then again Iannuzzi who slips away from the asphyxiating guard of the Lazio players and converts the basket for +7. Taurus is in the hands of his giants. Sacco stops the grenade’s blaze with the time-out, upon returning Latina gives the guests another possession and the clock is ticking. Not even Cicchetti puts the necessary energy into a twisting shot and two vitally important free throws, but Romeo scores on the counterattack (2+1 and – 4 Benacquista). Parravicini, no one better than him tonight (23 personal points), takes responsibility for the lunge that ends the match. Hdl takes it home with an overtime (3-9) as a mature team. It ends 79-85.
The last page of this troubled season must be written on Wednesday.
HDL PRESS OFFICE NARDO’
