Basketball Serie A: Venice flies to the Final Eight, Trapani collapses in Sassari

The ninth symphony of Venice, still unbeaten at home, is worth a mathematical place in the Final Eight. The orogranata have the better of Naples (27 by Wiltjer, equaled seasonal record) and reach the already qualified Brescia and Virtus Bologna, who will face each other tomorrow evening in the postponement of the 12th Lba matchday. Trapani collapses in Sassari (seven players in double figures for the Sardinians) thanks to the absence of Petrucelli and Hurt who were affected but also fresh from another very complex week from a corporate point of view. Udine wins the survival challenge with Treviso coming back last, Cremona wakes up late and gives way to Tortona (21 of the usual Vital) for what is the Lombards’ fourth knockout in a row. Reggio Emilia rises again, ending its streak of consecutive defeats at 8 against Trento, led by Caupain (21 points). Varese continues to be in good shape (third win in the last 5): the second half was decisive in the success against Trieste.

SASSARI-TRAPANI 102-78

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After a turbulent week to say the least, with the back and forth of press releases with Fip and Lega, Trapani stumbled upon its second defeat of the season: Shark, who hadn’t lost since October 25th and had just won 7 victories in a row, were overwhelmed in Sassari in a match without history, dominated by the Sardinians from start to finish. Added to the continuing state of emergency were the absences of Hurt and Petrucelli due to flu, with Pugliatti born in 2004 acting as captain-coach. As anticipated, the match takes a very specific direction in the second half of the 1st quarter, when Banco di Sardegna runs away with a 19-0 run (28-7 in the 8th minute). Sassari attacks the area very well (11/13 from 2 in the 1st quarter) taking advantage of the physicality of Thomas and McGlynn, with Johnson instead hitting from the arc. Trapani finds no answers, and Dinamo’s lead never falls below 13 points, reached at the beginning of the second half (55-42 at 24′): Beliauskas takes care of it, with 9 points in the third, to re-establish the distance. Shark’s 24% from 3 is the data that best illustrates the day’s difficulties, while Sassari’s 26 team assists, which thus achieved their fourth consecutive home victory, testifies to the great team performance of Mrsic’s boys.

Sassari: Johnson 17, Midnight 14, Buie 13

Trapani: Notae 19, Cappelletti 18, Eboua 16

VENICE-NAPLES 106-96

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Ninth victory in the championship, maximum points in the season, still unbeaten at home: Venice restarts immediately after the defeat in Trento, overcoming Napoli at the end of a crackling match offensively and full of moments. The 1st half is a yo-yo: Reyer starts strong from 3 with Wiltjer and finds the +10 (22-12 at 6′), but Guerri responds with Bolton (4/5 from 3) who brings everything back into balance (30-29 at 10′). In the 2nd quarter the script repeats itself: 19-1 partial for Venezia at the start, taking advantage of a dominant Tessitori in the area, counterbreak of 3-18 for Napoli with Simms, Croswell and Bolton again, author of 14 points at halftime (53-48 score). In the second half, Spahija’s team upped the game at the end of the third quarter: 5/5 from 2 and 3/6 from 3, making good use of the bonus (8/9 on free throws) for the +14 (80-66 at 30′). It’s not over yet, however, because Crosswell continues to score in the area, Gentile finds a couple of triples, Simms hammers from the line (91-86 at 36′). It wasn’t enough, however, to make a comeback: first Wheatle (at his best in the season), then Witljer again, who sealed his super game with the 4th triple scored, and finally Cole from the corner closed the score (101-91 with 1’20” left).

Venice: Wiltjer 27, Wheatle 14, Bowman 13

Napoli: Simms 27, Bolton 24, Croswell 20

UDINE-TREVISO 86-79

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Carnera’s salvation challenge comes from Udine. Apu puts 4 points between itself and the hot zone with the third success in the last four. Treviso remains in crisis and falls for the tenth time in the championship. The race was balanced right from the start. Vertemati’s boys shoot better from 2, taking advantage of Christon’s incursions and Mekowulu’s dynamism. Treviso remains in the wake with a good performance from beyond the arc (7/15 at 20′) and thanks to the impact of Weber and Torresani, especially in transition. The first real boost to the match comes from Apu, who starts with more intensity in the second half, and flies to +16 after two triples from Alibegovic and a basket from Bendzius (60-44 in the 24th minute). The partial, which gave the Friulians control of the match, came thanks to the defensive intensity that forced several turnovers for Treviso and ran in transition. The guests shake from the arc with Olisevicius, Abdur-Rahkman and Radosevic, who also scores near the rim and on the line (73-71 in the 35th minute). In the final, the decisive plays are made by Spencer, who converts a free throw, finalizes a couple of assists from Christon and blocks Radosevic (83-78 with 80” from the end). Rossi’s men missed shots at the end to reopen the discussion.

Udine: Christon 18, Brewton 14, Mekowulu 12

Treviso: Weber, Radosevic 17, Olisevicius 16, Pinkins, Torresani 9

CREMONA-TORTONA 71-76

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Bertram moves to PalaRadi, achieves her eighth success in the championship and is close to qualifying for the Italian Cup in Turin. Fourth consecutive defeat for Brotto’s team. After a partial start, Tortona attempted the first escape, thanks to cuts from Pecchia, 5 consecutive points from Baldasso and baskets from Gorham and Hubb. A triple from the former Trento player gives the guest +11 a few seconds from the 20th minute (34-45). Derthona also kept the pace high in the second half and controlled the match, scoring easily near the rim with an excellent Hubb, Olejniczak and Pecchia. A layup by Vital is worth +16 (50-66 at 31′). In the following minutes, Vanoli grows defensively and finds baskets from distance, with Willis, Veronesi and Ndiaye, making it 8-0 and reopening the game (71-76 at 39′). In the final, the hosts paid bitterly for a couple of errors by Willis, allowing the guests to celebrate the victory.

Cremona: Willis 20, Durham 15, Veronesi 9

Tortona: Vital 21, Hubb 18, Pecchia 9

REGGIO EMILIA-TRENTO 77-65

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Resurrection Reggio. The negative streak of defeats in the championship stops at 8. Crazy about their point guard, Caupain (22 points after 25 against Trieste 7 days ago) who dragged the Emilians into the 77-65 victory against Trento, Unahotels moved ahead of Treviso in the standings with 6 points in what for now seems like a duel of who doesn’t finish last, at least in the first round. Trento falls after 3 victories in a row and suffers their fifth away defeat. The hosts started better (6-0), 1st quarter with very high pace and Caupain already protagonist (10 points in the first 10′ with 3/4 from the arc). Triples and counterattacks on both sides, with overtaking and counter-overtaking characterize the 2nd quarter up to a 10-0 partial for Reggio (4 by Barford, 12 in the 1st half) which extends 31-22 thanks to the high quintet (Barford, Cheatam, Uglietti, Thor, Williams). Trento receives little from Aldridge (0 points in 26′) while the young Niang and Hassan see little of the parquet. In the second half Unahotels takes control of the offensive rebounds and raises the intensity on defense: new maximum lead 58-45 with 3′ left in the 3rd quarter. In the last quarter Hassan and Bayehe try, 8-2 on the scoreboard and Energia Dolomiti falls behind 65-60. Hassan himself misses the -2 from the arc, on the other side Cheatam doesn’t miss the dunk over Jakimowski who also commits his fourth foul. On the other hand, Trento scores a bonus with 4′ left. Signal of surrender which is completed with the subsequent 11-2 partial for Reggio, which thus closes the match. The 20 of Bayehe, the last to give up, are the maximum of the season. Unahotels also dominant in rebounding (42-27), whereas Trento’s absence was felt by Mawugbe.

Reggio Emilia: Caupain 21, Barford 13, Williams 12

Trento: Bayehe 17, Stewart 11, Jogela 9

VARESE-TRIESTE 84-69

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A wild second half gives Varese the third victory in the last five games after 6 consecutive defeats. Without Sissoko, Trieste lost 84-69 and could do nothing against the magnificent 4 of Openjobmetis: Moore, Iroegbu, Nkamhoua and Stweart scored 65 points, in particular another super game from Iroegbu who won the long-distance duel against Ramsey (held at 8 points) both in the Top 5 among the best scorers of the season. Varese starts better (6-0), Renfro lively on both sides of the court (2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block). Trieste recovers but shoots poorly and little is scored on both sides: first quarter 13-11, from the arc 1/8 for the hosts and 0/6 for the guests who find Jeff Brooks in the starting lineup for the first time in the season. New break 6-0 Varese and after 11’30 coach Gonzalez calls the first timeout for Trieste. The reaction is there: comeback and overtake 21-19 thanks to a 14-3 partial counter up to a maximum advantage of 22-27 and 7 points from the great former Colbey Ross (MVP with Varese in 2023). We go to halftime at 37-32 in favor of the guests but the dust remains wet: this is the season low for both teams. The game changes in the second half. Varese explodes, new partial 28-11 in the name of the magnificent 4 starting from Moore, who scores 10, while on the other hand Trieste confirms itself as the worst team in the third quarter in terms of points conceded. Curious how Varese scored 32 points in the first two periods and 28 in the third alone. Trieste doesn’t find the energy to react in the last 10′ but doesn’t sink thanks to Moretti, Ross and Markel Brown, all three with Openjobmetis backgrounds. Of note are Varese’s 14/37 from beyond the arc, Moore’s 9 rebounds and Iroegbu’s 9 assists.

Varese: Moore, Iroegbu and Nkamhoua 17

Trieste: Ross 15, Brown 12, Moretti 11