UDINE. First the news: the Apu Old Wild West wins game 4 in Trapani and qualifies for the play-off semifinals where they will face Scafati.
Then all the rest. We certainly did not discover yesterday that basketball is one of the most unpredictable sports in this world, but what we have seen in Sicily is truly incredible.
Udine at 1’05 ” from the end was down by nine points (maximum Sicilian advantage in the whole match) thanks to a basket by Corbett.
Swear the other side shortens immediately, then Johnson steals a ball and goes to dunk for minus five.
Giuri commits a foul on Renzi who goes to the line: 0 out of 2, on the other side a bomb from Giuri and a scoreboard that says 81-79.
When there are 15 ” at the end Palermo goes to the line and brings his team back to the plus four.
It looks like the tombstone on a game that, from what we have seen, Trapani deserves to win. THE
n ten seconds Udine packs another archery shot with DJ 83-82. Coach Parente calls time-out to organize the last action: his players must not have followed him: high throw in the middle of the field intercepted by Mian, Schina feigns the penetration and discharges for Johnson, arrest, shot and … tuft: basket of overtaking and Udine is in the semifinals in the most incredible way.
We said that Trapani, for what he had shown for 39 ‘had deserved the beauty at Carnera.
The games, however, must be played until the end and the greatest merit of the Old Wild West was precisely that of always believing in them and never giving up.
At the same time Boniciolli and his boys will have to meditate on the second consecutive blackout in Sicily.
In race three they had given away the first two quarters finished down by nineteen points, yesterday after having placed the first real extension of the race (42-51 at 23 ‘thanks to a bomb by Giuri), with a partial of 12-0, they went below and they managed to put their nose forward at the last second, when it counts.
Boniciolli started with the usual quintet and with Antonutti to mark Renzi. A choice that initially paid off as the long Sicilian, compared to Friday, had a hard time finding the way to the basket both from below and from the arch. Johnson, this time he started on the right foot by placing eight points. Positive also the mpacts of Mian and Nobile author of the triple of 14-18.
Coach Boniciolli had envisioned a point-to-point match and so it was throughout the second quarter that Udine started with a couple of dunks from Pellegrino and Mian.
Trapani attempted a mini extension (37-32 signed by the annoying Mollura) neutralized by a basket by Mian and two dunks by Foulland.
At the end, here is the Juventus overtaking thanks to a conclusion from Johnson’s arc, a sort of preview of what would have happened on the last siren.
The Old Wild Est, we said, got off to a good start in the third quarter that Boniciolli started without a DJ in the quintet, then the aforementioned blackout with only Giuri to keep his team afloat with three consecutive baskets that allowed Udine to go all the way. ‘last short interval down by only four points (62-58) immediately canceled by Foulland who places a two out of two from the line. Renzi scores his second bomb from the arc (68-64) then a two plus one from Miller seems to put the game on the side of Trapani (71-64). Foulland stitches up again, then a very questionable unsportsmanlike foul whistled against Mian gives Trapani two free throws and a possession from which another four points arise. Antonutti, stumbled upon another bad day, is the weak link in Udine’s defense. Two consecutive baskets by Corbett, on which Udine can no longer defend, send Trapani to heaven. A minute and five seconds, however, are enough to be sent back to hell by Giuri and that satanasso of Johnson in an incredible ending already told at the beginning. In a daring way, the Old Wild West is in the playoff semifinals, but to play it on par with Scafati it will be necessary to raise the performance of some players in addition to recovering Amato as soon as possible. –