A2 Playoffs, the'artificial intelligence takes a chance on the promoted

With one of the two promotions already in the hands of regular season winner Scafati, there is still one spot left to be awarded through the A2 Series playoffs, with eight teams still in the running in a bracket that promises balance and twists and turns. And so, numbers in hand, we asked the artificial intelligence to read matchups, statistics and precedents to identify the favorite for promotion.

Pesaro, according to the AI, is off to a strong start against Rimini, thanks to the best offense among the front-runners and a continuity that the Romagnoli have not always shown. Cividale and Rieti, on the other hand, announce themselves as interpreters of the most balanced series, while Verona will be able to count on the best differential in the entire A2 to try to bend Brindisi. Fortitudo Bologna, finally, arrives in the playoffs with a marked defensive identity, a +168 points difference and a PalaDozza that in the decisive moments weighs like few facilities in Italy: against Avellino it starts clearly ahead.

The projections lead to the semifinals between Pesaro and Cividale on one side, Verona and Fortitudo on the other, with the Marche favored in the first match-up and the Effe slightly ahead in what is being called an early final. And it is precisely Fortitudo, according to the analysis, that remains the team best equipped to go all the way and even win the final: experience, physicality, depth, and an environment that pushes.

The final estimate speaks for itself: Fortitudo Bologna 35 percent, Pesaro 30 percent, Verona 15 percent, Cividale 10 percent, Rieti 5 percent, Brindisi 3 percent, Avellino and Rimini at 1 percent. Not a judgment, of course, but a trend: for artificial intelligence, the team closest to the Serie A is the Effe.