Italian Basketball League, results: Milan, Bologna and Venice OK

After Reggio Emilia’s success in Cremona early on Saturday, the program for the fourth day of the Italian Basketball League has come to an end. Trento comes back to win again away from home in Varese. Venice takes the derby in Treviso, and Napoli spreads out against Brindisi. Milan proved to be clearer than Tortona in the last part of the match and achieved an unexpected victory. Scafati and Brescia move to Pesaro and Pistoia. Virtus Bologna overshadows Sassari.

Tortona-Milan 75-79

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The first away match of Milan’s season arrives in Tortona. Fast start for Olimpia, who often manages to find the free man under the basket and shoots well from outside the area: the partial score reaches 9-0 (11-20) immediately. Despite some jolts from Bertram, Milan kept the distance easily, especially thanks to Mili’s work in the area: the first half ended 31-41. On his return from the locker rooms, Derthona moved into high gear with Dowe and Weems and recorded an 11-0 break that was well worth passing (42-41). Milan seems to be having trouble with the opposition’s defence, but they stay in the game with points from Tonot, who is always brilliant when attacking from the dribble. The fourth quarter continues point by point: With one minute to go, it’s tied 75-75. Milan takes the lead with Shields’ goal (75-77), sent to the goal line by Obasohan’s defensive naivety. It was the same Bertram goalkeeper who in the next movement lacked the support that would have deserved the equalizer, and Olimpia had only to end the game with two free throws.

Tortona: Weems 19, Daum 16, Dow 12;

Milan: Millie and Poythress 14, Bangus 11.

Varese Trento 84-85

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Despite winning their first European Cup, against Keravnos, and selling out the Italium Arena, Varese still went down. Although he immediately took the lead in the race, he abandoned it in the final seconds. In the first quarter, thanks to a hat-trick by Hanlan and Woldetensai, Varese scored 28-16 after 9 minutes, but with Grazulis Trento halved the deficit and took the lead midway through the second half (31-33); Take advantage of defense and rebounds. The balance continues until the end of the first half even if he gives Varese a +2 boost before the siren (44-42). After another balanced 16 minutes, the McDermott-Brown hat-trick tries to direct the match – which in the meantime has become almost a three-way match – at 77-69, but in the 38th minute Trento takes the lead again (82-83), again. From Sagittarius with Alviti. The match was played point by point until Hope’s decisive basket gave the visitors a third victory in four Italian League matches.

Varese: McDermott 21; Brown 15 and Moretti 15;

Trent: Alviti 18; Al-Baligha and Al-Hab 14.

Treviso Venice 77-82

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Reyer was unbeaten, and it was only two defeats for Treviso who remained ahead in the derby for a long time, but then fell behind in the last quarter. Booker and Tessitore immediately scored a lot, until Treviso had the first break from the arc and reached +9 (30-21). Soon after, the locals also found a double-digit advantage with Zanelli and Mezzanot (42-29). But between the third and fourth periods, Venice reduced the gap to -5 in the 32nd minute (67-62). Then, after a long life, he regained the advantage with a hat-trick from Wiltger and Di Nicolau (69-70). By this point, Brown is frozen on the line, the locals are constantly out of power (1 point in 6 minutes) and a Sbahia side are so experienced they will never look back. Although Bowman-1.

Treviso: Harrison 15, Policap 11, Mezzanotte, Zanelli and Allen 9;

Venice: Tucker 17, Brown 13, Sims 11.

Naples-Brindisi 90-71

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The third victory in four matches for Napoli, which fell away to Brescia last week. The second leg at PalaBarbuto is a controlled affair, with the lead already established in the third quarter, so much so that there is time to get the first point in Serie A for 2006-born Stefano Saccoccia. Brindisi, still searching for a win between the tournament and the European Cup, holds the spot. Fourth, he then leaves the field to Jeffy, who immediately takes over with Zubcic. The Croatian will also be the best player with 24 points and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes. When Napoli opens the throttle, they do so with a 16-0 break that becomes decisive, rising to 47-29 at the break. It will be the third quarter that confirms that this is a match without history.

Naples: Zubcic 24, Ennis 13, Sokolowski 12;

Toast: Morris 13, Risma and Johnson 12.

Pesaro Scafati 103-107

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It’s a constant improvement at the Vitrifrigo Arena, where Scafati leads by 20 points but still manages to secure victory. Givova runs away immediately, punishes Vuelle who doesn’t seem to be on the court and scores 22-0 (8-32) early in the match. In the second half, the visitors’ percentage decreased slightly and the home team tried to turn things around, without succeeding in reducing the advantage achieved by Scafati, who led 30-47 when he returned to the locker room. But in the second half, we see another foil: first, he reduced the gap to single figures (61-67 at the end of the third quarter), and 5 minutes after the end, he even took the lead with a Mazzola hat-trick (73-70). Givova seemed to have lost the clarity, but was saved 5 inches from the end by the usual Logan, who equalized from the goal line. Scafati pulls off an overtime approach and defeats Pizarro once and for all thanks to Pinkins, the best player of the match with 33 points.

Pizarro: Totti 29, Tambone 19, Mazzola 15;

Scafati: Pinkins 33, Robinson 16, Logan and Rosato 15.

Pistoia-Brescia 72-84

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The Lombards’ happy streak continues, as they lead from start to finish in PalaCarrara and maintain full points in the championship. An excellent start from Gabriel LeGermani, who scored 9 points in the first quarter. Brescia takes an easy lead, but Pistoia keeps holding on to Willis and Ogbede: 31-38 at half-time. In the second half, Istra found 5 small points that brought the team back into contact (38-40), but the visitors responded with a strong counter-break 12-0 (48-68) bearing the signature of Della Valle, exceptional from behind the arc. Pistoia is looking for a reaction by raising the pace in the last half, but the superiority achieved by Magro’s team is too great to be repaired.

Pistoia: Willis 21, Ogbede 19, Moore 10;

Brescia: Della Valle 26, Bellan and Corno 11.

Virtus Sassari 80-66

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Four of the four in the league are also for Luca Banschi’s team, confirming their excellent form after the two victories in the Euroleague during the week. Only a balanced game at first, with Smith and Abbas Virtus leading from the back and Whittaker hitting back for the Sardinians. Dinamo finds a small +6 stretch at 22-28, but the home team responds to it with a 12-0 counter-break that gives them the lead (34-28). In the second half, Sassari tries to get back into contact, but shows difficulty in containing opponents from outside the penalty area: the Black Vs easily keep the distance throughout the match and in the final Lundberg hat-trick worth +14 (76-62). Sends credits.

Virtus: Abbas 14, Smith 13, Shengelia, Mickey and Lundberg 10;

Sassari: Trier and Diop 11, Whittaker 9.