Italy SerieA: FoxTown Cantu stops Varese

SerieA

Italian SerieA leader Cimberio Varese suffered their second loss in three games on Sunday when FoxTown Cantu took an important home game for them, 67:60. The loss drops Varese to 16-4 and in a tie for the league lead with Banco di Sardegna Sassari, who won comfortably over Scavolini Banca Marche PU, 87:76. Cantu remains in a tie for fourth place at 13-7 with Acea Roma, who edged out Juve Caserta 64:66, and one game behind Montepaschi Siena, who beat Angelico Biella, 98:75. Banco di Sardegna Sassari’s Drake Diener was two assists shy of a triple double, as he had a career night with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. His evaluation of 50 was 17 higher than the next best at 33 on the week.

FoxTown Cantu – Varese, 67:60
In their last game with sponsor FoxTown, Pallacanestro Cantù hosted the SerieA leader Cimberio Varese and came up with a big home win, 67:60. Cantu will be sponsored starting next week by International Chinese technology company Lenovo.

Cantu got out to quick 8:2 advantage, only to be countered by a 2:13 run by Varese. Cantu’s Marco Cusin ended the scoring in the first quarter with a dunk to bring the first quarter tally to 12:15. Nicolas Mazzarino pulled the hosts even at 15 with a triple, then the clubs exchanged baskets and the lead until mid-way through the frame. With the score 21:22, Cantu put together a scoring run of 9:2 over the last five minutes of the half to head into the dressing rooms up 30:24. The FoxTown contingent opened the second half with the first four to extend their run to 13:2 and the lead to 10, 34:24. The guests used five guys over the next five minutes to erase the deficit, going on a 2:12 run of their own to knot the score at 36. With the score at 40-all, the Varese shooters went cold, only being able to connect on a pair of singles until a Mike Green jumper in the closing seconds of the third 10. In the meantime, Cantu was able to put up another 10, to send the clubs into the fourth with the hosts leading 50:44. It took just over four minutes in the final frame before either team found the cords, with Bryant Dunston connecting on a lay-up, getting fouled, and converted the three-point play to cut the margin to three, 50:47. Cantu still couldn’t connect and went another minute without scoring, while Ebi Ere dropped in a three-ball to knot the contest at 50. Peter Aradori broke the dry-spell for FoxTown with a pair of singles, which Dunston countered shortly after. The game of scoring runs continued as Cantu found the net and ran off nine, as Varese had the lid put on their hoop for nearly four minutes. With under a minute to play the home club held a 61:52 advantage and were able to drop in six of eight charity tosses to hold off five points by Polanara Achilles and a pair of deuces by Mike Green, to put up a ‘W’ with a 67:60 decision.

Pietro Aradori was game-high for Cantu with 20 points. Cusin added 10 points and 6 rebounds, and Alex Tyus dropped in 7 points, while hauling in 11 rebounds in the win. Dunston led Varese with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Green added 12 points and 7 rebounds, and Ere added 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Trenkwalder Reggio Emilia – EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, 79:61
Trenkwalder Reggio Emilia led start to finish in their home match up with EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, 79:61. The win bumps Trenkwalder to 11-9 and tied for 7th place in SerieA with Venezia, while Milano drops to 12-8 and 6th in the league.

The hosts tallied the first five of the game on the way to outscoring Milano 25:18 in the first frame. Greg Brunner and Andrea Cinciarini contribute 8 and 7 points respectively in the first quarter to put the guests in an immediate catch-up game. The first eight points of the second quarter went on the home side of the scoreboard, with Trenkwalder extending their advantage to 15, 33:18, before Malik Hairston stopped the run in dramatic fashion with a backboard rattling dunk. Ernest Bremer, Jr. canned a triple to cut margin to 10, 33:23. By the end of the half Trenkwalder was up nine, 46:37. The lead grew to a max of 15 again in the third frame, but Milano scored the final nine of the quarter to head into the final frame only down six, 59:53. The guests didn’t score again for nearly four minutes, while their hosts dropped in six, to extend the lead back to 12. Trenkwalder dominated the fourth, outscoring Milano 20:8 to pick up an 18 point win.

Donell Taylor led the pack for Trenkwalder with 19 points. Cinciarini added 15, Brunner contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Mladen Jeremic dropped in 10. Ioannis Bourousis paced Milano with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Hairston added 13 points and 4 assists, and Alessandro Gentile contributed 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Juve Caserta – Acea Roma, 64:66
Acea Roma came from down 12 early in the contest and down 10 late in the third quarter to out-dual their host club, Juve Caserta, 64:66, to improve to 13-7 and in a tie with Cantu in the fourth spot of SerieA. Juve Caserta falls to 8-12 and a tie for 10th in the league.

The hosts jumped to a 12-point lead early, 19:7, with Roma putting the frame in the books with a 1:7 run that brought the score to 20:14. The guests closed the gap to two, 29:27, only to let Caserta get away again and run off eight unanswered. Phil Goss hit a triple and Lorenzo D’Ercole knocked down two three-balls in the final two minutes for the guests, while Stevan Jelovac hit a part of deuces to close out the half with Caserta up 41:36. Late in the third Jelovac got a basket and a pair of free throws to push the Caserta margin to 10, but Datome Luigi sank a pair of singles to cut it to eight, 57:49, heading into the final 10. Roma stormed back at the start of the fourth connecting on 13 straight to get the lead, 57:62 with five minutes to play. Jelovac and Dan Mavraides hit a pair of buckets in the paint to cut the deficit to one, 61:62, but that would be the last points the hosts would get until deep into the fourth quarter, while Gani Lawal hit a jumper and Goss connected on a pair of free throws to get up by five, 61:66. Marco Mordente broke the Caserta drought with a triple, 64:66, which is where the scoring ended as both teams were unsuccessful in final second to add points.

Goss paced Acea Roma with 13 points and 4 assists. D’Ercole and Jordan Taylor each connected on 11 points. Jelovac was game-high for Juve Caserta with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Stefano Gentiel and Zygimantas Jonusas each added 11, and Jeleel Akindele contributed 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Vanoli Cremona – Sutor Montegranaro, 89:87
Vanoli Cremona fell behind their visitors early, only to fight back for an 89:87 win over Sutor Montegranaro. The win bumps Vanoli to 8-12 and in a tie with Juve Caserta, while the loss drops Sutor Montegranaro to 6-14 and 13th place.

The clubs exchanged baskets and the lead early in the first, only to have Montegranaro connect on the that last seven points of the frame to go up 21:27. Vanoli countered that run with the first seven of the quarter, to push ahead by one, 28:27. With the score knotted at 32, the visitors tallied six to get up 32:38, and ended the half up 45:49. Vanoli had five guys score in the third, providing the balanced scoring attack that they needed to get the lead, and they headed into the final quarter up 66:64. To open scoring in the fourth Christian Burns put down a dunk and Valerio Amoroso hit the cords with a three-points, to take the lead back 66:69. They stayed ahead for a few minutes until Aaron Johnson sank a three of four singles on two trips to the line to put the hosts up 77:75. The clubs exchanged the lead multiple times in the final minutes and with just over two minutes to play Amoroso connected on a triple, followed by team mate Fabio Di Bella’s three-ball to give Sutor an 83:85 advantage. Luca Vitali tied it up at 85 and then put the hosts ahead when he sank the charity toss to finish the three-point play. Jarrius Jackson knocked down a jumper to push the margin to three, 88:85. All Sutor could come up with in the final minute was a pair of singles by Daniele Cinciarini, and Vanoli held on to take the 89:87 decision.

Lance Harris led Vanoli with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Luca Vitali (5 rebounds, 6 assists) and Andrija Stipanovic (13 rebounds) dropped in 16 each, Jackson added 13 points, and Brian Chase connected on 11. Cinciarini was game-high with 22 for Sutor, Di Bella added 20 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, Burns contributed 19 points and 9 rebounds, and the duo of Kyle Johnson and Amoroso (5 rebounds and 4 assists) added 11 points.

Banco di Sardegna Sassari – Scavolini Banca Marche PU, 87:76
Banco di Sardegna Sassari moved into a tie for the top spot in SerieA with an 87:76 win over Scavolini Banca Marche PU. The win improved Sassari’s record to 16-4, while the loss drops Scavolini to 5-15 and in 15th place in the league. Drake Diener was two assists shy of a triple double, as he had a career night with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. His performance totaled up to an evaluation of 50, which was the best in SerieA on the week and 17 points higher than Tarence Kinsey of Scavolini. Kinsey’s numbers on the night were 33 points and 9 rebounds, with the evaluation numbers of 33.

The clubs traded the first two quarters with Sassari taking the first, 26:21, and Scavolini the second, 18:24. At the half the visitors led 44:45. The second half belongs to the hosts as Sassari won both, 24:18 and 19:13, to come out on top 87:76.

Diener led Sassari with 28 points, while Michal Ignerski added 21 points and 7 rebounds. Brian Sacchetti had 13 points and 6 rebounds, and Giacomo Devecchi added 10 points. Kinsey’s 33 points and 9 rebounds led Scavolini. Andrea Crosariol added 12 points and Daniele Cavaliero dropped in 10.

Montepaschi Siena – Angelico Biella, 98:75
Montepaschi Siena rebounded strong from their big loss to Scavolini last week to beat up on Angelico Biella, 98:75. Siena improves to 14-6, two games out of the top spot held by Varese and Sassari. The loss keeps Biella in the SerieA cellar at 4-16.

Siena did all the work they needed in the first quarter, dropping in 31 while holding their guests to 17. The clubs both scored 19 in the second frame to head into halftime with Siena up 50:36. The hosts tacked on two more to set up the fourth with Siena up 69:53. After two frames of cruising, Siena stepped it up a bit and added seven to their margin, 29:22, in the fourth to wrap up scoring at 98:75.

A total of 10 players scorer in double figures for both teams, with Montepaschi having six: Kristjan Kangur with 16, Viktor Sanikidze with 14, Benjamin Ortner with 14, Matt Janning with 13, David Moss with 14 and Benjamin Eze with 12. Biella had Kevinn Pinkney with 18, Trey Johnson with 17, Taylor Rochestie with 16, and Goran Jurak with 12.

Umana Venezia – Enel Brindisi, 76:68
Umana Venezia broke a tie in the standings with Enel Brindisi after a 76:68 win at home. The clubs were tied at 10:9 last week, but with the win Venezia moves to 11-9 and tied with Trenkwalder in 7th place, while Enel drops to 10-10 and 9th place.

The guests finished the first frame with a slim three-point advantage 10:13, but Umana got on track and put up 25 in the second, holding Enel to 20, to take a two-point lead into the break, 35:33. An 8:0 run mid-way through the third 10 helped the hosts extend their lead to 11, 57:46, as they headed into the final quarter. Enel was able to cut the margin to four, 64:60 with just over two minutes to play, but Umana ran off seven unanswered to put the game out of reach.

Umana got 19 points from Szymon Szewczyk, 15 from Keydren Clark, 12 points and 12 rebounds from Time Bowers and 10 from Massimo Bulleri. Scottie Reynolds led the way for Enel with 14 points, Cedric Simmons added 13 points and 9 rebounds, Jonathan Gibson dropped on 13, and Jerai Grant added 10 points and 8 rebounds.

SAIE3 Bologna – Sidigas Avellino, POSTPONED
The contest between SAIE3 Bologna and Sidigas Avellino was postponed due to a danger threat to public safety making the Unipol Arena unplayable. Reno Mayor Simone Gamberini released a statement that the area was recently hit with a severe snowstorm that left a substantial amount of snow on the roof of the arena and with temperatures rising the concern is for the snow to start sliding off the roof, causing a potentially dangerous situation.

Italy SerieA Week 20

This Week’s Matches[matches league_id=5 match_day=20 template=summary dateformat=”M. j, Y”]

Standings[standings league_id=5 show_website=false template=nolink]

Next Week’s Matches[matches league_id=5 match_day=21 template=sumnoscore dateformat=”M. j, Y”]

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