Reggio Emilia knocks out Trento

Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia, thanks to a monstrous performance by Amedeo Della Valle (31 points with 8/11 from 3), knocks out Dolomiti Energia Trentino in the fourth quarter (84-90) and moves back to just two points behind Olimpia Milano in lone second place in the standings.

The challenge for Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia got off to an uphill start right away: Dolomiti Energia Trentino got off to a rocket start with 4 points from Wright and Sanders, author of a frightening dunk that immediately ignited the Pala Trento. Buscaglia’s boys shoot 100% from the field and Flaccadori’s triple is even worth +7 (9-2). Menetti adjusts his defense, adjusting changes and rotations and, with bombs by Silins and Kaukenas, sews up the gap limiting the HCL breakaway attempt. The rhythms are furious, they run from one side to the other of the parquet seamlessly and it is the percentages from the field that suffer most, with errors on both sides and a few too many lost balls. The intensity shows no sign of abating and Lockett’s triple at the buzzer is worth the new +4 Dolomiti Energia (24-20). As expected, the game struggles to find a master, but the lowering of the score facilitates the task of the guests, who nibble away possession after possession bringing themselves back to -1 with Aradori’s bomb that sends the teams to the long break (38-37).

Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia returns to the parquet with a different attitude: the first guest advantage bears the signature of Veremeenko, good with a super dunk to put the arrow and allow the coveted overtaking on Aquila. The 0-7 partial is stopped by Berggren who, paired with Flaccadori, carries the HCL attack on his shoulders, responding to Reggio’s break with a counter-partial that puts his team ahead (55-52). Balance reigns supreme: +5 on one side, +2 on the other and the third fraction closes on 61-60, prelude to the last 10 minutes of fire. Neither team, as it had been in the previous fractions, manages to build a margin of safety, and when it looks like Reggio might take the right tack, Pascolo takes care of it to put everything back on the table. Not even the three bombs in a row by a Ray Allen-format Amedeo Della Valle are enough to tame the Dolomiti Energia, which, with Sutton, gets back in touch again. Grissin Bon’s No. 8, however, is in a state of basketball omnipotence and his eighth on-target bomb of the evening closes the issue for good. The points for the former Ohio State man are 31: at Pala Trento it ends 84-90.

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