The twelfth round of the Serie A men’s basketball championship will be played entirely on Monday 26 December. For all the clubs it will be the last of the calendar year, because then the top Italian competition will resume with the start of the new year.
Givova Scafati will greet 2022 at the PalaPentassuglia against the hosts of the Happy Casa Brindisi, with a tap-off scheduled for 19:30.
Returning from the internal defeat at the hands of Bertram Yachts Tortona, the Agro team will try to win the two points up for grabs to continue their journey towards salvation and resume the discourse interrupted in Bologna, made up of three victories in three consecutive days.
Coach Attilio Caja and his staff are working hard to prepare every detail of the match, with all players available and the only doubt related to the presence of Butjankovs on the field, struggling with differentiated work due to a muscle problem that sees him forced for several weeks to watch his teammates from the stands.
The one against Happy Casa Brindisi will be an unprecedented challenge in the top flight. In fact, the two clubs met in an official championship match for the last time in the 2011/2012 season in Legadue, in which the Apulians won the championship in the playoffs, obtained promotion to Serie A (for the second time in two years ) and also won the Italian Cup in their category. In both matches (both at home and away) it was the blue-and-whites who prevailed.
THE OPPONENT
An old acquaintance from Scafat has been on the Brindisi bench since 2017: coach Frank Vitucci was in fact coach of the Gialloblù in Legadue from 2002 to 2004. The Venetian-born coach has a highly competitive roster who has had a fluctuating start to the season, which has earned him the current eighth place in the standings with 10 points, two more than their next opponents.
Four of the five athletes of US nationality are undoubtedly the most dangerous and prolific in the Brindisi ranks: center Perkins (14.5 points and 5.5 rebounds on average), guard Reed (14 points on average with 53.3 two-point shooting percentage), forward Burnell (11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game) and point guard Bowman (11.2 points and 2.4 assists per game). To these must be added the various Mascolo (9.1 points and 3.3 assists on average), Etou (injured for about a month, he should not take part in the contest), Mezzanotte, Dixson, Riismaa, Bayehe and Bocevski, who complete a staff among the most competitive in the entire category and certainly able to aim for a place in the playoffs.
THE STATEMENTS
Small forward Stanley Okoye: «I settled in very well and quickly in Scafati. The coaching staff, my teammates and everyone who works with the team helped me feel welcomed and made my fit comfortable. I am happy with my inclusion: the team is made up of great professionals who have done their utmost to help me quickly learn the game system and do it in a position where I can be of use to the team. I’ve already done it in the first performances and I want to give my contribution again, also to try and win in Brindisi against a good team, built again this year to compete at high levels, on whose pitch it’s always difficult to play. The key to the match will be to stick to the game plan, we have to be focused for 40 minutes in defense and in attack we have to be aggressive in execution, respecting our system. Looking at the statistics of our next opponents, I can say that they are a very balanced team».
