Reggio Emilia beaten and eliminated by Antwerp

The path of UNA Hotels Reggio Emilia in the Qualification Round Tournament of the Champions League is interrupted in the semifinals. The red-and-whites narrowly surrendered to the Antwerp Giants (81-78), at the end of a hard-fought contest but marked by the Belgian stretch in the middle quarters.

The race started in the best of ways for Reggio, able to lead +6 midway through the first period. As the minutes passed, however, Coach Moors’ guards upped the pace and found continuity in three-point shooting (39.5% from the arc, with 15/38 overall), digging the break that would make the difference. At halftime the Giants lead by six lengths and in the third quarter they even touch +20.

Coach Priftis changes the inertia by switching to zone defense and relying on a tall quintet with Cheatham employed as a “3.” The move works: Reggio gets back in the slipstream and on three occasions has the ball to tie, but Caupain’s (17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) triples are rejected by the iron. In the frantic finale, with ten seconds to go and three points to recover, a contested throw-in is awarded to Antwerp: an episode that finally extinguishes the Red and White hopes.

The Giants thus gain a pass to the final on Tuesday, September 23, which is worth access to the group stage of the BCL. For Reggio Emilia, however, the doors of the FIBA Europe Cup now open. The top scorers for Pallacanestro Reggiana were Caupain with 17 points and Barford with 15.