Expo Inox enchants then trembles with seventh victory and thrills

Zanellati’s team extends up to +24 dragged by Creus and Kordis After the interval the decline and the guest comeback, in the final the zone defense decisive

PARONA

It will be necessary to read a few more chapters of this championship to understand the real value and prospects of the Expo Inox Now Basketball Academy which debuted in the new and last season of the C Gold series (destined to disappear to make room from 2023-24 to the new Interregional category ), beating the newly promoted Settimo Basket 78-70.

Hollow after the dance

If only what we saw in the first quarter were valid, for physical, defensive and offensive quality, that of coach Alfonso Zanellati should be the team to beat in all respects. The long Spaniard Javier Valeiras Creus opens the dance with the triple from the corner, when the Croatian winger Bruno Kortis takes the center of the line in arrest and suspension for the 7-0, while Lonati is (and will remain for the duration of the match di Parona), unspeakable under the crystals, you just have to rub your eyes. Time out forced for the Milanese bench at 9-0, after a 24-second violation and three forced and wrong shots at the end of the action.

At Expo Inox, in addition to a suffocating defense, there are already six double shots, so Kordis, Valeiras Creus and the usual hyper-reactive Lonati sign the 15-2 which already seems a sentence. Coach Zanellati inserts the play guard Billi who immediately puts the front triple of 22-6, then Bruno Invernizzi capitalizes on the 2 + 1 of 27-11 and again Billi almost at the end of the arc makes 30-11.

After the first break, the ducal team alternates show with frills and various errors, but also rises to +24 (41-17), before Zanellati’s time out to tidy up after three balls appeared in succession (41-23).

His team goes above pace when it would be wiser to slow down and manage the situation. The result is that Expo Inox wastes a lot and Settimo in the rumba lights up and starts to get back into the game (43-27 at the long break). Another suspension by coach Zanellati at 45-34 at the start of the third period does not stop the long wave of Settimo who slips an unreal three-point series at the end of transitions all conducted at crazy speed while the Expo Inox tries to stay in the game , but with a completely different outcome.

Overtaking and counter-overtaking

Morale, Settimo comes under (47-40 and 47-44) and does not stop, even surpassing at 47-50 with a counter break of 17-39 compared to the end of the first quarter. On the next lost ball, coach Zanellati still wants time and chooses the least expected option in the presence of an opponent who is emulating the best “run and gun” of ancient Slavic memory, that is, he goes to the zone.

The choice pays off immediately because Settimo Basket crashes and Expo Inox puts its nose forward. The final fraction is balanced, even if the ducals maintain fluctuating advantages close to the double digits.

It seems done when Kordis signs a standing ovation play for 71-64 less than two minutes from the end, but we will still have to suffer because Valeiras Cresu, often irrepressible, confirms idiosyncrasy from the line. Then Kordis and an excellent Lonati close it (78-70) and send the reader back to the next chapter, Saturday night away with Milanotre, to try to understand more. –

Fabio Babetto