The Messina team beats Venice 100-77 in a match never in question. The Campanians come back from -12 and surprise Reggio Emilia in extra time
Milan as predicted and then the big surprise Naples. The semi-finals of the Italian Cup offer, tomorrow at 5.45pm, an unprecedented final. Olimpia dominates Venice, while the Campanians prevail in comeback and extra time against Reggio Emilia. Milan thus goes in search of the ninth title, Messina the tenth cup. Napoli, on the other hand, returns to the final after 18 years, when they lifted the Italian Cup by beating Virtus Roma.
milan-venice 100-77
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Few problems for the Messina team, which virtually closed the practice already in the first half of the match. Milano immediately places an important push by relying on Shields, practically infallible from long range. Reyer takes the hit and is cornered by Olimpia, who defends brilliantly and shoots with exceptional percentages in the other half of the pitch: 12/18 from 2 (67%) and 10/18 from 3 (56%) in the first 20′. Tucker’s outbursts were not enough for Venezia, who ended the first half down by 23 points (60-37). Upon returning from the locker rooms, Reyer tries to react with a 9-0 run that bears the signature of Simms, but just when Spahija’s men seem to have mentally returned to the game, EA7 finds fluidity from the arc again with Flaccadori and Napier and re-establishes distances. Venice tries to cling to Kabengele’s physicality in the final minutes, but it is definitely too late to call the result into question: Milan flies to the final of the Italian Cup.
Milan: Shields 28, Napier 17, Flaccadori 13
Venice: Kabengele 18, Tucker 15, Spissu 14
Reggio Emilia-Naples 78-87 dts
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Great intensity at the start for Reggio, who manages to create good shots with the ball circulation. Napoli pays 1/10 from 3 and the overall difficulty in the offensive phase. 24-14 at 10′ for Priftis’ men. The match slows down and the attacks stall, both don’t score for around 3′. Milicic’s team struggled tremendously to attack the Emilian defense, but found an excellent Sokolowski (6 points in the 20th minute), who took responsibility when the game broke down. Reggio Emilia makes some errors in attack, which prevents them from escaping. At the long break it’s 41-39 for UnaHotels. Napoli continues to struggle from beyond the arc (4/16). Good impact from Atkins (10 points) for Priftis and Pullen for the Campania team (12 points). The Reggio Emilia team started better in the second half, thanks above all to Faye, and went on to score an 8-0 lead. Brown and Pullen bring Gevi closer, who at the third buzzer find themselves down by 5 points, 58-53. In the last period the Campania team continues to struggle against the Reggio Emilia defense, which finds rhythm in attack (with a particularly inspired Chillo). Ennis leads the Neapolitan comeback. Thanks to his raids (which yield 5 points), Milicic’s team returns to -1. Sokolowski’s triple (which responds to Weber’s 2/2 on free throws) ties the score at 73. At 40′ it’s 73-73. The overtime decider is the pair of Pullen (3-pointer from 8 meters) and Brown.
Naples: Pullen 21, Enni s 18, Brown 16
Reggio Emilia: Atkins, Chillo 15, Vitali 13, Smith 11
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