Brindisi eliminated, Eurocup adventure ends immediately

Brindisi eliminated

Happy Casa Brindisi’s FIBA Europe Cup ended in the first round with a bitter defeat in Tallinn, Estonia, at the home of Kalev/Cramo with a final score of 73-72. A game led for large stretches, dominated in the first half closed on 29-42 thanks to a 12-26 second quarter partial but wasted in the last two minutes of the game. From 64-72 in the 38th minute Kalev’s 9-0 break broke Happy Casa’s dreams of victory, forced to win by at least 9 points due to the difference in points in the avulse classification.

The game plan for coach Vitucci works perfectly for 38 minutes during which his boys control the pace of the game, fouling the shooting percentages of the leading team. Mascolo’s energy and personality from the bench allows Brindisi to stretch to a maximum lead of +12 at the halftime buzzer. On the return from the locker room, the Estonian team shows up with a different attitude but the Reed-Perkins duo revs up the engine and fends off the onslaught. In the final, the lights went out and Cramo celebrated its landing in the Second Round leaving a lot of bitterness in the mouths of the White and Blue players who were the authors of a good overall performance.