The eight places for the playoffs are already certain, and also the first relegated team, Brindisi, while for first place everything is in the hands of Virtus Bologna. These are the verdicts of the 29th day of Serie A basketball. Virtus Bologna, Olimpia Milano, Brescia, Reyer Venezia, Reggio Emilia, Pistoia, Trento and Tortona are the eight qualified for the post season. Milan overtakes Germani and takes second place, behind Segafredo, who are 2 points away from being certain of the top of the standings. In the fight for salvation, Pesaro beats Cremona and remains alive. Treviso maintains a two-point gap over the Marche region, thanks to the victory against Varese. The victory at Palapentassuglia against the battleship Reyer is not enough in Brindisi: Sakota’s team is relegated to A2.
Milan-Brescia 83-77
—
Olimpia beats a strong German team and overtakes the Brescians in the standings. Now EA7 is second in the standings, while the guests are third. The hosts started very strong from the arc, 7/7, with 7 different players scoring. The Messina team beats the area proposed by Magro. In the second quarter the defense level rises, Brescia with an excellent Bilan (10 points at half-time) manages to get back on top after a complicated start. At 20′ it’s 41-40 for EA7. At the start of the second half the two teams continually exchanged partials. The most inspired for the two teams are Napier and Gabriel. Melli and Shields are the protagonists of the fourth quarter for Olimpia, with the number 9 making the decisive plays between attack and defense. The flare-ups of Della Valle and Petrucelli are not enough.
Olimpia Milan: Napier 17, Shields 16, Melli 13 Brescia: Bilan 20, Massinburg 13, Of the valley 12
Scafati-Sassari 74-99
—
In a match that had nothing to say on the eve of the match (both teams already safe and out of the playoffs), the guests dominated. The Sardinians rely on Kruslin, 20 points and 18/31 from 3. 5 in double figures for Markovic’s men. The game effectively ends already in the second quarter.
Scafati: Henry 19, Reddish 13, Gentle 11
Sassari: Kruslin 20, Diop 15, Jefferson 14
PESARO-CREMONA 91-86
—
At the Vitrifrigo Arena Sacchetti’s team suffers, but in the end they snatch another two fundamental points to keep their hope of salvation alive until the very end. The low quintet from Pesaro initially produced with little consistency and struggled to contain the physicality of Vanoli, who repeatedly imposed herself in the area thanks to his big players (Golden and Eboua). But Vuelle didn’t give up and in the second half held on to Tambone, who eliminated the gap with triples. It is always the Pesaro captain who signs the overtaking together with Cinciarini, who closes the match from the foul line in the final seconds.
Pesaro: Tambone 24, Wright–Foreman 15, McDuffie 13
Cremona: Eboua 21, McCullough 16, Pecchia 10
VARESE-TREVISO 95-100
—
After three consecutive defeats, Treviso finally raises its head and thus keeps two points away from its pursuers. Openjobmetis struggles to find continuity in shooting, while Nutribullet thrives with the physicality of Paulicap and the vast offensive repertoire of Olisevicius. It’s the usual Mannion who gives Varese a shock in the second half, but in the decisive moment of the match Treviso lights up from the arc, runs away and never looks back. Not bad for Varese, who comes out of Masnago as a loser, but still achieves arithmetic salvation.
Varese: Mannion 29, McDermott 21, Besson 12 Treviso: Olisevicius 23, Harrison And Bowman 18
BRINDISI-VENICE 84-80
—
Extraordinary performance from Happy Casa against the much better prepared Reyer. After the excellent performance in the final against Pistoia, Sneed returns to lead his team in the rescue effort, while on the other side Venezia feels the pinch but remains afloat above all thanks to Spissu. In the final, however, it was Kabengele and Wiltjer who turned on the Umana, who however were unable to complete the comeback and were defeated by the foul line. But today’s victory is not enough in Brindisi: arithmetic condemns Sakota’s team to relegation to A2.
Toasts: Sneed 22, Bayehe 17, Morris 14
Venice: Spissu 23, Kabengele 19, Wiltjer And Tucker 11
Reggio Emilia-Naples 88-74
—
Revolving doors for the playoffs at the PalaBigi: Unahotels celebrates the mathematical qualification led by Faye. Napoli – who had won the Italian Cup – also lacked what their coach had defined as “the last train for the post season”, suffering yet another defeat in the second round. The Neapolitans scored only 9 points in the first quarter, but Reggio Emilia didn’t take advantage of it at the start and continued with frequent changes of possession until half-time. It is between the second and fourth period that the hosts place the attacks that direct the match. When Galloway also unblocks himself, he and Faye (irrepressible with 24 points, 10/14 from two, 10 rebounds and 31 rating) put together the +10 before the final period. A gap that Gevi is unable to fill, sinking to -16 (72-56) in the 34th minute with only Sokołowski keeping them up. In addition to the 23 points he also had 12 rebounds and a final rating of 30.
Reggio Emilia: Faye 24, Galloway And Atkins 16 Naples: Sokołowski 23, Ennis 17, Pullen 10
Trento-Pistoia 80-105
—
The Tuscans confirm themselves as the surprise of the season and after having qualified for the Final Eight of the Italian Cup they also gain mathematical access to the playoffs. After a false start, Estra gets back on track with the house specialty, scoring 5 of the first 6 triples (65% at 40′ with 13/20). Moore (21 points) and Varnado even scored 55 points at the break, too many for Dolomiti Energia who closed under 14. Willis also lit up in the second half (19 points and 26 rating) and Pistoia spread beyond 100 points. Solid performance also from Ogbeide (14 points and 9 rebounds). Now both are at 30 points in the standings and will compete for the final placement in the last round.
Trent: Biligha 19, Hubb And Alviti 14
Pistoia: Moore 21, Willis 19, Varnado 15
Tortona-Virtus Bologna 77-84
—
Fourth consecutive victory for Virtus, closing a perfect April in the league with the exception of the home defeat against Pistoia. On Sunday, coach Luca Banchi’s team will only need to win against Trento to close the regular season in first place, without having to think about the results of the others. Tortona was driven by Thomas’ baskets in the area at the start; Bologna responds with an excellent Zizic (nearly double double with 11 points and 8 rebounds). Everything changes when Shengelia (his team’s MVP with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists) comes on in the third period, breaking the balance and giving his team a double-digit lead. In the crucial moment it is the former Kyle Weems who reopens everything (after Radosevic’s 8-point break) by punishing Virtus’ turnovers and scoring -4 from beyond the arc (75-79). At that point, however, defense and experience make the difference for the guests.
Tortona: Weems 13, Obasohan And Thomas 12 Bologna: Shengelia 15, Hackett, Zizic And Lanyard 11
