The Serie A2 Playouts are underway, with Group A and Group B competing to stay in the category. Here are the first challenges of the two scoreboards.
BOARD 1
Two matches at the same time on Saturday at 6pm. The team that scored the most points in Group A, i.e. Torino Teen Basket, is awaiting the match against Pallacanestro Vigarano (Saturday, 6pm). The Piedmontese team has won three of the last four, losing only a complicated match against Mantua. During the season Torino has almost always obtained the two points against its direct competitors in its ranking bracket: its tenth place is in fact +10 on Basket Roma’s eleventh and among the teams participating in the playouts it is second in terms of points scored with 63 on average. On the other side they will face a team that collected only eight points in the regular season and that has won only one match in the last five, as well as being the team that concedes the most points among those that will make the playouts (74). Vigarano’s strong point is the talent of Amaiquen Siciliano, top scorer in the championship with 24.5 points on average and the only player to score over thirty points seven times in the season. Next to her, Adriana Cutrupi has been her main support and is the second best rebounder in the league with an average of 12.6 per game, but beyond the two of them Vigarano has struggled to find alternative solutions. Torino can instead count on three players in double figures for average points, and does better than Vigarano in all statistical items except turnovers: with 17.3 Torino is one of the teams in the championship that loses the most balls, but it is also one of the best in steals, with 9.8.
The second match in the upper part of the scoreboard is the one between Basket Roma and Basket Girls Ancona (Saturday, 6pm). Both teams are entering the playouts at a complicated moment in their respective seasons, with Roma having been on a losing streak for five games and Ancona for as many as ten. The last victory of the team from the Marche dates back to January 28th and among the teams that make the playouts it is the second in terms of points conceded, with an average of 70.4 per game, even if among those in Group B it is the one that scores the most (59 ) and is the one who does best, together with Moncalieri, at three-point shooting (29%). The opponent they will face is a very physical team, which in fact has better numbers in terms of rebounds (35.9 against 31.6) and blocks given (2.8 against 0.7), an area in which Roma is even the best in the entire championship. Martina Fantini is the main creator of these data, given that she averages 11.4 points and 8.4 rebounds and together with Benedetta Aghilarre (10.8) and Lavinia Lucantoni (10.4) she is the top scorer of her team. On an individual level, Ancona’s strong point is Dinga-Mbomi, who arrived after Sara Boric’s injury and was her team’s top scorer in most of the eight matches she played, traveling at an average of 12.4 points.
BOARD 2
The first match is between Velcofin Interlocks Vicenza and Tecnoengineering Moncalieri (Saturday, 8.30 pm). The two teams enter the match with twelve points difference between those scored during the season, with Vicenza hoping for mathematical salvation until the last day, only being condemned by the success of Pallacanestro Femminile Umbertide. Vicenza is the team in best shape among those who will participate in the playouts, in fact they have won five of the last six games, with a great victory on the last day against Roseto. The Venetian team is also the one that shoots best from two points, but will face the team that has the best percentage from beyond the arc (29%), on par with Ancona. Moncalieri also closed its season well, winning three of the last five matches, among which the success on the last day against a higher-end team like Logiman Broni stands out. Moncalieri will be called upon to stem the talent of Iva Belosevic, who averages 10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds with 47% from two points and to have a chance she will have to try to limit turnovers. The Piedmontese team is in fact the team that loses the most balls in the entire championship, with an average of 19.6 per game, while Vicenza loses more than four fewer (15.5). The data is particularly worrying for Moncalieri also due to the fact that in front of him he will have the third best team in A2 for stolen balls: Vicenza with an average of 9.9 is in fact the best in Group B, behind only Costa Masnaga and San Giovanni Valdarno.
In conclusion, the last match on Saturday will be the one between Solmec Rovigo and Dimensione Bagno Carugate (Saturday, 8.30 pm). Rovigo won two more games in the season, but Carugate managed to close the regular season with a victory, beating Stella Azzurra Roma. Furthermore, the Lombard team is the one that scores the most points among those participating in the playouts (63.8) and has a good attack in general, even superior to the two teams that qualified for the playoffs in Group A. In terms of scoring percentages, it is the best of the two points (42%) equal to Vicenza, but next to this Carugate is also the team that concedes the most points (72.4) after Vigarano. The series could be one of the most balanced, since the two teams are not very distant in statistical terms: Rovigo takes more rebounds (35.5 against 31.6), but loses more balls (17.2 against 14.2) and recovers fewer (8.8 against 7.7) . Carugate will not have the field factor on its side, but it can count on three players in double figures for average points, as well as on the experience of a player like Giulia Rulli, but on the other hand Rovigo has a Mia Masic who is growing rapidly and a Sara Zanetti who is now a guarantee under the basket despite not yet being twenty years old: the series is one of the most interesting of this first round of the playout.
(Photo Lorenzo Ferro)
