Last regular season match at PalaRadi with Vanoli Cremona hosting EA7 Milan for the day’s Lombard derby. Landlords serene for the salvation objective already achieved; the guests with the need to take 2nd place in the playoff grid. Cremona played for 39 minutes with five players in double figures. Milan chases for a long time and wins the triumph in the final thanks to a triple from Melli with 1.57 left to play on the clock. Cremona wins the rebounding duel (39-35, of which 15 offensive) but suffers the defense of a Euroleague team (13 turnovers). The match ends 72-73.
Vanoli Basketball Cremona
Eboua 7.5: concludes his season of return to the top flight in a super way. He comes close to a double double with 10 points and 7 rebounds and also an offensive rebound dunk that makes PalaRadi’s irons shake.
Adrian 7: he was in doubt until the ball due to the well-known ankle problems. In the first half he struggled to find the rhythm. In the second he contributed 13 points by punishing the opposing defense from beyond the arc (3/5). He also captures 3 rebounds and recovers 2 balls.
Davis 6.5: limited by fouls, he brings his strength with 10 points and 4 assists. With his arrival, Vanoli had what was missing with Zegarowski.
Pecchia 6.5: shoots little (1) and doesn’t find the way to the basket. Then he puts himself at the service of the team with 5 rebounds won and 4 assists distributed to his teammates.
Vecchiola sv
Lacey 7: the ball is often found at the edge of the buzzer far from the basket (1/5). He also scores double figures (10) and is his best assister (5).
Small 7.5: yet another moving match for the former San Severo player who had to defend against superior players and did not disappoint. 2 points from the foul line, 1 rebound, 1 steal and an assist on his debut in the top flight.
McCullough 7.5: like Eboua he plays a great final part of the season. In the approach he never enters (0/5), better from the arc (5/9). He adds to this a good presence under the scoreboards (7).
Golden 6: he makes himself felt under the basket (8), he struggles a little more when shooting (2/7). He didn’t have very simple clients to fight with.
Zanotti 6: 6 points and 3 rebounds with not the best percentages (1/4; 1/5).
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Bortolani sv
Tonut 4.5: worst +/- of the match with -16. He scores 2 points in 17 minutes of use and little else convincing.
Melli 8: caliph. He decides it with a triple from the corner where he had been forgotten by the Cremonese defense. 7 points, as many rebounds and as always he made his presence felt on defense with 3 blocks.
Napier 5: negative game for the former Uconn player who argues with the basket (2/10 from the field). He distributes 3 assists but has no impact.
Ricci 6.5: Scores 8 points in the 3rd quarter bringing energy off the bench.
Flaccadori 6: only 13 minutes for the former Trento player who showed interesting things. He finishes with 5 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
Hall 6.5: 2 points by aiming the rim with a final dunk. Opposite of Tonut, best +/- with 7, making himself useful with 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 assists.
Caruso 4.5: 3 minutes. He scores the first basket of the game then makes defensive errors and Messina never lets him back in.
Shields 7.5: struggles shooting from the arc (2/7) but gets fouls when approaching the rim (6). Constant threat from the Cremonese defense with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists for an all-round game.
Miratic 8: like Shields he is good at suffering fouls from the Cremonese defense (7 resulting in 9/10 from the foul line). Like a sniper he punishes repeatedly from the arc (4/7), finishing with 25 points and the title of best scorer of the match.
Hines 6: lots of dirty work, 4 rebounds and 1 block.
Voigtmann 5: 5′ in which he remembers a runner who didn’t finish in the best way. Then he ends up like Caruso.
