L'Italy wins Trentino Basket Cup, overwhelmed Senegal in final
Basketball Italy of coach Gianmarco Pozzecco beat Senegal 80-56 in Trento in the final of the 11th edition of the Trentino Basket Cup. Resting the ‘big’ Melli and Fontecchio, for Italy 17 points from Diouf, 12 from Ricci and Procida and 9 from Niang. Next commitments of the Azzurri, ahead of the European Championships (debut on Aug. 28 against Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece), will be the friendly matches on Saturday, Aug. 9, with Latvia and on Thursday, Aug. 14, with Argentina.
The scoreboard
Italy-Senegal 80-56 (22-19, 26-17, 23-6, 9-14)
Italy: Tonut* 6 (3/7), Ricci 12 (1/3, 2/4), Spagnolo 6 (2/6, 0/1), Procida* 12 (4/5, 0/3), Niang 9 (3/4, 1/1), Bortolani 1 (0/1 from three), Caruso 2 (1/1), Diouf* 17 (7/8), Rossato 7 (2/3, 0/3), Severini, Akele* 8 (4/5, 0/2), Pajola* (0/1, 0/3). All: Pozzecco
Senegal: Badio* 11 (1/4, 3/10), Ndiaye 2 (1/2, 0/3), Gueye 5 (0/1, 1/2), Sane 4 (0/3, 1/2), Boissy 8 (1/3, 1/7), Fall Faye* 4 (1/3, 0/1), Badji ne, Ndiaye, Camara* 4 (2/2), Sylla 1 (0/2, 0/1), Mane* 7 (0/2, 0/1), Diop* 7 (1/1, 1/2), Sene 3 (1/2, 0/2). All: Diop
Shooting from two Ita 27/43, Sen 10/26; Shooting from three Ita 3/19, Sen 7/35; Free throws Ita 17/24, Sen 15/30. Rebounds Ita 44, Sen 44. Recovered balls Ita 7, Sen 6. Assist Ita 15 (Pajola and Spagnolo 4), Sen 9 (Badio and Mane 3).
Gone out 5 fouls: None
Referees: Saverio Lanzarini, Andrea Valzani, Matteo Lucotti
Spectators: 3,133
CT Gianmarco Pozzecco: “Difficult to play two games in two days against two completely different teams. Senegal fielded players of a certain size. Fatigue prevents you from starting out focused, but the guys did great and we improved a lot in the second half. It was another small step forward, the new ones will help us starting in Trieste because we need to work together. I would like to thank Giordano Bortolani and Guglielmo Caruso from the bottom of my heart and sincerely. They are part of our family even though they are returning home. I would like to congratulate coach Marco Sodini’s Under 18 Men’s National Team that won the Bronze Medal at the European Championship this evening. So far an extraordinary summer for the Italian Basketball Federation.”
So did tournament MVP Momo Diouf: “I thank the coach for giving me the opportunity to be here, it was a special game. I was very happy to play against Senegal and it went well. They physically are incredible but we were able to be polished and play as a team. We realized early on that by playing back and forth we wouldn’t be able to do much but we played on the small things and did well. We are a team that works well defensively. I am calm I enjoy every day and every game. We have to be consistent.”
