Race 1 to the last breath, the first round goes to APU: Verona defeated by three points

Thrilling finale in the Carnera bedlam. Guests get free, Lacey makes a difference

UDINE. Race one goes to the Old Wild West after an intense, dramatic race that Udine took tooth and nail by beating Verona 67-64 in a final of enormous intensity. Tezenis is a great team, she may have thrown away the game by missing 4 free throws in the final, but in front of her she found an Apu that literally never dies. Final Lacey’s demise? Sumptuous with two vital baskets and a true champion.

The atmosphere is for great occasions. There is not a free pin at Carnera. Decibel at full throttle. Everything has been set for days, but at the beginning the Apu is missing. The real one. Feel the pressure. Many errors in series, captain Antonutti, the most experienced, with devoured baskets is the demonstration of how Verona is lighter (7-13). Tezenis runs, defends (great), takes more rebounds, has the two Americans in the evening.

The yellow and blue wave tries to stop Esposito, who is the most inexperienced. Before the Italian invents a useless unsportsmanlike foul that effectively slams Udine down by 11 points at the end of the first quarter. Yet his mentor Bonciolli had preferred him to Ebeling… He is the symbol of a horrible quarter for Udine: 17-26, Verona goes, even with two very young players like Grant and Casarin.

The kids of the West want to break the world, but they are trapped by their mistakes. But they never die: defense, a couple of lessons by “prof” Giuri. Waiting for Walters or Pellegrino, who if they scored from below would open the box of Ramagli. You know that tuna that was opened with a key in the 1980s? Verona does not score for 5 ‘, Lacey is there, Cappelletti carbura but takes a basket in the face from the former Spangaro (excellent, the Trieste-born used to such challenges) not from him. Walters? First canestrone and usual technical foul. Does he fall into old Rosselli’s trap? The referees go on automatic even if Antonutti was closing his mouth for 30 seconds. The president Furious Pedone even takes the field to talk to a referee. Incredible. But the crime shakes the team. Pellegrino takes a basket plus foul from the garbage. Udine goes to the interval under 33-34 in the Carnera pit. Re-runny grease. For real.

Ready to go: Lacey’s basket and Cappelletti’s counterattack, Nobile’s sci-fi basket and foul, a real one, one who has the Apu in his heart: 40-36. In a flash. Verona? Gentlemen, it’s a final. He doesn’t give up an inch. God forbid. The Apu that wants to split the world is back and the Scaligeri are holding up the wave. Tense stories fly into the field. Botte, contacts to the limit. Lacey sends baby Casarin to the bar. He’s in the game. Walters in the order scores from the average, a triple, which brings down the Carnera, scores two free: on fire. Mussini? He makes, perhaps, the play of game 1: he steals the ball, flies on the counterattack and with Caroti on and inventes a basket and does it. Pandemonium in Carnera. Crazy: 52-42. The APU of the first two quarters is wiped out of its beautiful copy. But race 1 is very long and the former captain of Italy under 16 Casarin, now 19, pure talent, overflowing personality brings Verona back in the wake at the end of the third quarter: 52-48. Casarin concludes the work: alone he brings his family back into contact. Udom, another kid, imitates him. Just tell him if he enjoys them. The hundred Veronese fans believe in it and make themselves heard.

Cappelletti canestrino, another mini extension, but for the Juventus fans the clock runs too slowly. Anderson finds a sublime basket plus a three foul. Udine has a point of advantage (58-57) with 4 ‘from the end. Anderson, triple sidereal: 58-60. But Johnson grace the Apu from the line. Antonutti equalized. Lacey, two magic, double overtake. Pini re-grace Udine from the lunette. Other Lacey’s magic: 64-60 at 1’25 “. It’s a beautiful ending. And to think that it is only race one and tomorrow at 8pm there is already race two. Rosselli gives three and a punch to the sky: minus one. Thirty seconds, Verona attacks to win it. But Johnson is wrong, do it on Cappelletti with 7 ”from the end. But Udine is not in the bonus. Time-out and then remittance. Not to be mistaken. Five seconds: do it on Antonutti. Two free platinum: 66-63. Anderson is public danger number one. Cappeletti makes a foul on Rosselli. That the first is wrong. He would like to miss the second but scores: 66-64. If Udine manages to make the throw-in, it’s done. Time-out, at Carnera there will be 50 degrees, the air conditioning is lost in the useless 5 million jobs, we are in Italy. Do it again on Antonutti. He scores the first, misses the second. Verona fails to shoot. See you tomorrow. It will be long, very long. [FINETESTO]—