Partials: 7pm-11pm; 44-40; 64-63
Givova: Stone 4, Okoye 25, Caiazza ne, Mian, Hannah 16, Pinkins 18, De Laurentiis ne, Rossato 15, Imbrò, Thompson 4, Tchintcharauli ne, Logan 7. All. Caja.
Umana Reyer: Spissu 11, Tessitori 4, Parks 16, Freeman 2, Bramos 9, Moraschini ne, De Nicolao, Granger 13, Chillo ne, Brooks 2, Willis 10, Watt 18. All. From Raphael.
Another bitter sprint finish for Umana Reyer: in a very tight match, Givova Scafati wins 89-85.
Moraschini, hit by a flu attack, is on the scoresheet for honor of signing and Spissu, Granger, Parks, Willis and Watt start in the quintet. The beginning sees the teams starting at a slow pace. Umana Reyer looks for long shots and, on the first lead (4-6 at 2’30”), also brings home Thompson’s second foul. Scafati reacts with two triples (10-6 at 3’30”), but the Orogranatas continue with the game plan and put in a 0-10 run for 10-16 at 6′ thanks also to good reads and help in defense . The crescendo leads three times to +7, even if the triple final by newcomer Hannah fixes the score at 19-23 in the 10th minute.
With the players coming off the bench on the field, Umana Reyer continues to support in the paint, but struggles in attack, so much so that coach De Raffaele immediately calls a time out and Givova impacts at 25 in the 13th minute. The orogranata blaze is the answer for 25-29 at 13’30”, but the match remains in absolute equilibrium. Scafati proves to be very precise from the arc, but neither team manages to get their hands on the inertia until the 18th minute. In fact, Willis’ unsportsmanlike paves the way for the hosts to +6, with Umana Reyer who doesn’t give up anyway and returns to the locker room at 44-40.
Scafati opens the second half with a triple from Stone to make it 47-40: it’s 9/18 from the arc for Scafati, who however depends a lot on the percentages in the 3-point shot, so Umana Reyer, continuing to play patiently with the ball inside and making himself heard even on offensive rebounds, he passes forward at 22’30” (47-49), also finding third fouls from Rossato and Okoye and Givova’s bonus at 24’30”. In the middle of the quarter it’s still equal at 52, with Scafati who then finds his aim again from 3 after a period of blurring in the heavy shooting and tries the extension on 64-59 in the 29th minute. In the last two minutes of the period, however, the orogranata find a super Parks, who, with 9 points in a row, allows them to close the quarter on 64-63.
It was Scafati who was forced to time out after less than a minute at the start of the last quarter after Bramos’ triple on Brooks’ offensive rebound and De Nicolao’s invention on the break for Watt’s dunk to make it 64-68. The competitive and contact intensity increases and Umana Reyer reaches 67-72 at 33’30”, but again the triples allow Givova to put the arrow back on (73-72 at 34’30”), even if Spissu too (before being punished with a coach), Bramos and Granger respond from 3 and it’s 76-81 at 36’30”. However, it’s not over yet: in the 38’30” Scafati is ahead again (84-83) and, after a turnover from the grenade, in the 39th minute it’s Venetian time out before Hannah’s free throws in the 86-83 minute. Granger finds two rapids (86-85), makes a mistake for Hannah, makes a mistake for Parks and, at -6”, Watt stops Stone with a foul. The two teams’ first error in the line of the evening brings the score to 87-85, with a time out by coach De Raffaele: Bramos’s triple, however, caresses only the outside of the retina, then the foul suffered by Okoye with three tenths from playing only serves to seal the final on 89-85.
