An amazing Happy Casa Brindisi extends Tezenis Verona in a incandescent PalaPentassuglia and conquers the fourth consecutive victory. It is a very important success, because it digs a safety gap of eight points on the penultimate place, occupied by the Scala family, and projects coach Vitucci’s men more and more towards the upper floors of the standings, authorizing playoff ambitions.
With the exception of a soft approach, New Basket showed clear superiority over the roster coached by coach Ramagli, who, however, was a tough opponent for the first three quarters. With an advantage of 6 at the end of the first fraction, New Basket, in the second period, on + 11, tried the first stretch, but Verona promptly rebuffed, closing the first half with a gap of 8 lengths.
In the third fraction, Brindisi experienced the only moment of real difficulty when, ahead by 14, between 24 and 28′ he suffers a 9-0 break which narrows the gap to just five lengths. But the reaction to the mini blackout is overwhelming. In fact, Happy Casa, between the third and the last period, places an amazing counter break of 22-0 which makes it fly to +22. Then it’s pure show for the 3500 at the PalaPentassuglia, enchanted by the plays of Harrison, Reed, Burnell, Lamb and Perkins, in an evening to remember, which culminates with a wave in the stands.
Better than this, the Happy Casa could not get to the break of the Final Eight. The championship will restart on Sunday 5 March, when the New Basket will be on stage in Pesaro. In the meantime, we can enjoy a completely unexpected sixth place up until a month ago, when Vitucci’s team was spiraling into the vortex of a heavy crisis in the game and results that didn’t bode well.
First quarter
Happy Casa Brindisi starts with Burnell, Reed, Lamb, Mascolo, Perkins. Verona responds with Cappelletti, Smith, Johnson, Anderson, Sanders. Happy Casa Brindisi starts with low defensive intensity, but with a great long-range goal. In the first six minutes, five triples were made respectively by Burnell, Lamb and Reed (three consecutive times). In the 6th minute, Happy Casa carves out the first margin (19-10). At the end of the quarter, New Basket is ahead by 6 (25-19).
Second quarter
The pace increases in the second period. Tezenis opposes the escape attempt of the Happy Casa, which under the bridge suffers in the phases of the game in which Perkins refuses on the bench. On 16′, the gap was in double figures for the first time (36-26), thanks to a triple from Mezzanotte. In the 18th minute, Brindisi goes up +11 (41-30), but Verona closes immediately to -6. At the end of the first half, the gap is eight (48-40).
Third fourth
The New Basket approaches the second half with a play of 4 (triple plus free throw) by Burnell, which is worth a new double-digit lead (52-42). Then a triple from Lamb is worth the +11 basket (55-44). On 24′, the advantage goes up again, reaching 14 (64-50). In moments of maximum difficulty, the guests react with a 9-0 break which reopens the games (64-69 in the 19th minute). After the skid, it is Brindisi who replies with a 6-0 counter break which at the end of the third fraction translates into three possessions full of advantage (70-59).
Last quarter
Tezenis at the start of the last period disappears from the field. New Basket, on the other hand, showcases high school games. In the 34th minute, Burnell crowns an extraordinary break of 22-0 with which Brindisi flies to +27 (86-59). Verona, dry for 5 minutes, is totally on the ropes. New Basket flies on the wings of enthusiasm. In the 37th minute, Riisma signs the triple of + 31 (96-65). In the final, it was Bowman, with a triple, who fixed the score at 102-68.
The scoreboard
HAPPY CASA BRINDISI-TEZENIS VERONA 102-68 (25-19, 48-40, 70-59, 102-68)
HAPPY CASA BRINDISI: Burnell 14 (2/3, 3/3, 8 r.), Reed 17 (3/5, 3/4, 2 r.), Bowman 10 (3/6, 1/4, 4 r. ), Harrison 9 (2/7 from 3, 2 r.), Mascolo 7 (2/5, 3 r.), Lamb 10 (2/3, 2/5), Mezzanotte 3 (1/2 from 3, 2 r.), Riismaa 9 (3/3 from 3, 2 r.), Bayehe 9 (2/2, 5 r.), Perkins 12 (4/5, 0/1, 5 r.), Vitucci, Bocevski. All.: Vitucci.
TEZENIS VERONA: Smith 11 (5/7, 7 row), Sanders 4 (2/3, 0/5, 1 row), Anderson 13 (1/2, 2/8, 5 row), Davis 14 ( 5/6, 1/5, 4 rows), Cappelletti 12 (4/7, 0/2), Casarin (0/3, 0/2, 3 rows), Johnson 6 (2/5, 0/1 , 3 r.), Ferrari ne, Udom 3 (1/3 of 3, 2 r.), Bortolani 3 (0/2, 1/4, 1 r.), Pini 2 (1/2, 5 r.) , Rosselli ne. All.: Ramagli.
REFEREES: Lo Guzzo – Perciavalle – Martial.
NOTES – Free throws: Brindisi 21/31, Verona 13/21. Shot perc.: Brindisi 33/58 (15/29 from three, ro 6, rd 32), Verona 25/66 (6/14 from three, ro 14, rd 18).