The playoffs officially begin at 7.30 pm with four matches that will fill the evening of Wednesday 24 April and will lay the first foundations for the road towards the awarding of the 2023/2024 Techfind Serie A1 Scudetto. Let’s look at the quarterfinal pairings under the microscope and what we can expect from these exciting best-of-three matches.
(1) Umana Reyer Venezia – Oxygen Roma Basket (8)
It will be the league leaders and the eighth seed who will open the playoff curtain at the Taliercio in Mestre for Game-1 (7.30 pm). The orogranata come to the match with a record of 21-3, second best attack and third best defense in the championship; the team coached by coach Mazzon remained unbeaten for thirteen matches, dominating the top flight, starting and finishing in first place in the standings with the final mission of returning to winning the Scudetto. Among the main protagonists of the ride we certainly find Matilde Villa, number one for minutes played and assists in the team; the pair of long players Awak Kuier and Jessica Shepard, respectively the best scorer and the best in terms of evaluation and rebounds among the Venetians. However, Reyer will have to face the playoffs without Lorela Cubaj, who is out due to a fracture in the fifth metacarpal of her left hand. The Capitolines obtained a historic qualification for the post-season with a record of 10-14, an absolute novelty as the club participated in the top championship for the first time; the team led by coach Di Meglio reached the playoffs with a round to spare, but had to sweat the proverbial sweats given the thick competition, however the suggestive idea of performing the upset is what will keep the Roman fans glued to their seats . The duo of Leia Dongue and Nicole Romeo – best on the team in points scored, rebounds captured, assists distributed, rating and minutes played – laid the foundation with the substantial contribution of Ezinne Kalu and Dalma Czukor. The direct clashes in the regular season rewarded Umana Reyer Venezia both times with a 62-73 victory in Rome and a 79-55 victory at home on the twenty-sixth and final day.
THE CALENDAR
Race 1: 04/24/2024, 7.30pm – Palasport Taliercio, Venice
Race 2: 04/29/2024, 8.30pm – PalaTiziano, Rome
ev. Race 3: 01/05/2024, 18:00 – Palasport Taliercio, Venice
(2) Famila Wuber Schio – Alama San Martino di Lupari (7)
The Venetian derby between the reigning champions and the seventh-placed teams in the regular season will be staged at the PalaRomare in Schio (8pm). The ‘orange’ enter Game 1 with a 21-3 record which did not allow them to finish at the top only due to the difference in goals with Venezia, however they finished with the best attack and one of the top four defenses in the championship; coach Dikaioulakos’s girls have the final objective of bringing home the second trophy of the season after the Italian Cup won in Turin. Within a deep roster built to go to the bottom of every competition, the player on the cover often tends to change, but the performances of the newly arrived Robyn Parks and Dorka Juhasz certainly cannot go unnoticed – leaders in the order in points, minutes , rebounds and evaluation – as well as captain Giorgia Sottana; furthermore, the Italians Jasmine Keys, Costanza Verona and the Puerto Rican Arella Guirantes performed well. The opponents enter the match with a record of 10-14, a goal achieved like a whistle after an enthralling battle with Sassari; the team coached by coach Piazza proved to be a team to beat during the first half of the season, only to then have a decline that almost compromised the path towards the post-season. The possibility of immediately confronting the holder of the tricolor will give great resonance to a duel that is in itself very interesting. When we talk about the performers who allowed the ‘she-wolves’ to reach the play-offs, we cannot fail to mention Raelin D’Alie – number one for assists distributed throughout the championship with an average of 6.7 – and Lidija Turcinovic, San’s best scorer Martin; finally, the leader in rebounds and rating Stephanie Kostowicz (who however missed almost the entire second round due to injury and is also in doubt for this Playoff series) and the winger Taylor Soule also join. During the regular season, Famila Wuber Schio won over their rivals both at home with a result of 74-67 and away with a clear 43-85 in the second round.
THE CALENDAR
Race 1: 04/24/2024, 8:00 pm – PalaRomare, Schio
Race 2: 04/28/2024, 8:00 pm – PalaLupe, San Martino di Lupari
ev. Race 3: 01/05/2024, 18:00 – PalaRomare, Schio
(3) Virtus Segafredo Bologna – Passalacqua Ragusa (6)
The venue for the duel between the third on the podium and the sixth seed of the Techfind Serie A1 will be the Segafredo Arena in Bologna (8pm). The Bianconere entered the play-offs with a record of 20-4, just one point behind the Venetian duo, but both fell at home against the Due Torri team; coach Vincent’s group closed the regular season as the third best attack, but above all as the least beaten defense (ex-aequo with Campobasso), demonstrating how solid the chances are of returning to play for a Scudetto final. A squad full of talent led by Cecilia Zandalasini – first for points scored and assists distributed in the season with the black Vù – and by the Iliana Rupert-Lauren Cox tandem, ministers of paint with excellent numbers in rebounds and blocks; there was clearly no shortage of contributions from Haley Peters, Ivana Dojkic and the Italian Olbis André. The Sicilians won their place in the best eight with a record of 14-10, in a season that saw them play a fluctuating first round and a second part of the championship as a big player; the team of coach Lardo – former head coach of the Bolognese team – found unity even in difficult moments due to injuries and, climbing back up, showed themselves to be a formidable opponent for all the other twelve opponents, not surprisingly the fourth best attack of the maximum series. Great merit for this achievement goes to the season played by Oderah Chidom, leader in every statistical data for the Ragusan and “revelation”, being in his first year in our country; Jasmine Thomas – Passalacqua’s number one for assists distributed – was one of the architects of this climb like her partner Laura Juskaite. Laura Spreafico was also important, with her leadership and presence: the guard, however, missed the last three games of the season due to physical problems. In the regular season, Virtus Segafredo Bologna beat their opponents on both occasions without ever playing at home: in fact, the first match was played at PalaRomare during Opening Day (victory 67-73) and the second at PalaMinardi (victory for 60-69).
THE CALENDAR
Match 1: 04/24/2024, 8.00pm – Segafredo Arena, Bologna
Race 2: 04/28/2024, 6:00 pm – PalaMinardi, Ragusa
ev. Match 3: 01/05/2024, 18:00 – Segafredo Arena, Bologna
(4) La Molisana Magnolia Campobasso – Allianz Geas Sesto San Giovanni (5)
Closing this spectacular day of play-offs (8.30 pm) will be the two teams who have played for large stretches of home field advantage. The Molise team closed the regular season with a record of 17-7 and took fourth place only thanks to their basket quotient, testimony to the balance we will see in this series; coach Sabatelli’s girls were solid enough to record the lowest number of points conceded – tied with Bologna – and therefore finished as the best defense in the championship. The achievement of the goal just mentioned finds the answer in the season of Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah, elite rebounder and tireless worker, as well as number one of the Molise players in terms of rating; in this triumphal ride towards the fourth seed there was certainly no shortage of performances by Nina Dedic – the team’s top scorer – and the ideas of Stefania Trimboli – leader in assists and minutes played; however, the very young Blanca Quinonez Mina, born in 2006 and now a “veteran” of the category, must also be mentioned. The Lombards ranked fifth thanks to their record of 17-7, which however – precisely due to the basket quotient – did not give them the opportunity to play Game 1 at home, an advantage which however in the regular season gave verdicts different; the team coached by coach Zanotti qualified for the Final Four in Turin in 2024 and recorded a streak of seven consecutive victories, far from an easy obstacle to overcome. The group was mainly driven by Tinara Moore, best scorer in the championship with 16.6 points on average and all-around leader of Geas; Jazmon Gwathmey, who is in doubt due to a knee problem suffered in the match against Brixia Basket (in addition to some of the Rossoneri’s infirmary problems: Elena Bestagno is also out for Geas) was the perfect shoulder for the American pivot – number one in assists and in the blocks for Sesto San Giovanni – however the Italian pair made up of Valeria Trucco and Ilaria Panzera played a fundamental role throughout the championship. The duel in the play-offs will give a verdict in this “beautiful” best of three matches: Molisana Magnolia Campobasso won at PalaNat 62-66 in the first round, while Allianz Geas Sesto San Giovanni conquered La Molisana Arena by 46-50 in the return match.
THE CALENDAR
Match 1: 04/24/2024, 8.30pm – La Molisana Arena, Campobasso
Race 2: 04/28/2024, 6:00 pm – PalaNat, Sesto San Giovanni
ev. Match 3: 01/05/2024, 18:00 – La Molisana Arena, Campobasso
Tags: Techfind Serie race Scudetto begins Playoffs
