LIVE EuroCup – Upset in Trento, Gran Canaria falls with the final thrill

Last in group B still winless, like Slask Wroclaw, the Dolomites Energy Trento faces another very difficult commitment after the triumph in the sprint on the field of Reyer in the LBA: the BLM Group Arena is on stage the Gran Canaria.

The guest coach, the ex great Slovenian playmaker Jaka Lakovicleads a team that boasts a 4-1 record in the EuroCup and 7-2 in the Liga ACB thanks to world-class performers such as Andrew Albicy, Nicolas Brussino and AJ Slaughter.

The hosts find each other Diego Flaccador.

Formations

Trento: Flaccadori, Spagnolo, Forray, Lockett, Crawford, Conti, Grazulis, Udom, Atkins, Ladurner, Zangheri, Dell’Anna

Gran Canaria: Albicy, Slaughter, Bassas, Benite, Brussino, Shurna, Mutaf, Salvo, Inglis, Balcerowski, Diop, Stevic

Quintets

Spagnolo, Lockett, Crawford, Udom, Atkins vs Albicy, Slaughter, Brussino, Shurna, Diop

Ideal approach for the yellows: steal ball and and one on the counterattack for Shurna, Slaughter-Diop winning pick and roll, but the Aquila responds with a triple from Spagnolo, a winning transition from Lockett and a and one from Udom. Partial of 8-0, 8-5 after 2′. Diop dominates Atkins for the third “foul and basket” of the evening and impacts. The intensity is not that of big occasions and the score is 10-13 thanks to the triple from Shurna’s corner and Diop’s support: the #14 and #18 are the only ones that scored for the guests. Inglis makes his physical superiority felt by beating Grazulis on the baseline to reply to the easy basket that the Latvian from Trentino had deposited a few moments earlier, while later he earns an offensive rebound foul and realizes the bonus already spent by the hosts from the line . A complicated pass by Flaccadori favors the opponent’s restart, completed by Bassas with a triple. 14-20 with 2’24” from the first break. Good black and white stint coming out of the timeout, marked by a well-constructed triple by Crawford and by the transition concluded by Grazulis near the basket. At the end Bassas misses the encore from the arc and the previous two shots Salvo free are worth the 19-22 at minute 10.

With strength, Forray inaugurates the scoring of the second period, then suffers a foul in attack by Inglis, but in the ensuing possession Grazulis only manages to overtake with a left-footed conclusion and Benite promptly punishes from distance. Misfortune strikes Trento again, in particular the bomb, again for overtaking, by Flaccadori, and for the second time it is always Benite who also takes advantage of it from the arc. Conti’s stoppage and shot from the line is -3, 25-28. Udom, Atkins and Conti eat up further opportunities to move forward in the score, not taking advantage of the four consecutive errors by the guests from 6.75. The match stagnates at 27-28 with 3’46” before the break. Finally, Lockett takes care of the penetration to put the +1 up despite the block by Inglis, even if Stevic is immediately triggered under the basket and cancels the Aquila advantage. Intercepted ball, however, the transition in numerical superiority that Lockett closes on the rim is valid, convincing coach Lakovic to call timeout. On Diop’s dunk attempt comes the third foul by Atkins and the 20-year-old Senegalese takes advantage of it from the line. The match is now a one-time response, with Flaccadori and Brussino exchanging a triple and AJ Slaughter stealing the wretched Trentino throw-in to sign the scorching bomb of the 34-38 when it expires. Until that moment, the “Polish” was 0/5 from the field.

The third quarter heats up after Diop’s solo dunk thanks to two incursions by Spagnolo and a triple by Lockett for -1. After 4′ it’s 41-42 and Ladurner catches up with his team mate Atkins with three fouls before immediately committing the fourth too. Brussino ends a long away possession by cutting, receiving on the elbow and signing the jumper, immediately canceled with interest by another triple from Lockett, this time from the corner. In the middle of the fraction it is 44-44. Trento does not punish Brussino’s two consecutive errors from the arc and goes back behind after the two free throws won by Benite, causing confusion also in attack. A running left hook from Miquel Salvo restores the margin of the interval, +4 Gran Canaria. Not even the end of the third quarter brings the visitor’s draw, on the contrary, the Trentino stadium lights up again on Atkins’ triple at the end: after going down 47-53, the Aquila closes on 53-55.

Like 10 minutes before, it is Captain Forray who opens the fraction, signing a foul and a professional basket for 56-55. Flaccadori’s not very positive evening continued with his fifth shooting error and a slide in defense which facilitated the overturning for Benite’s triple, but then it was the former Bayern himself who earned the equalizer. The instant replay doesn’t transform Benite’s foul into an unsportsmanlike one, but the bonus spent by the guests still gives free throws for yet another overtaking (Udom misses one). Albicy in raid brings forward his own, which rise to +4 with Diop’s devastating dunk. Molin timeout with 5’48” to play. New equalizer thanks to a canarian defensive oversight, which sends Spagnolo to the iron, and Atkins’ hook, then there is also the overtaking of Grazulis from the corner to extend the partial to 6- 0 in just 95″. Spaniard lacks the fingertips to sign the +4 on entry and the score stagnates again: Slaughter (1/6 in the evening) and Grazulis are wrong from the arc. 68-66 with 1’29” to go. From the irregular block by Atkins comes the alley oop closed by Diop at the invitation of Albicy. With 36.6″ left there is the triple front by Flaccadori: 71-68, guest timeout. Slaughter still misses a well-constructed shot (1/11 from the field), then after the offensive rebound there’s an incredible airball from Brussino. Udom punishes the systematic foul with +5 free throws with 26.8″. Another good build by coach Lakovic, this time Brussino is precise from the corner for 73-71 at 21.5″. Flaccadori gets himself caged on the baseline and gives the ball to Albicy, who almost finds the and one. The French international makes 1/2 and misses a draw, Spaniard is more precise and signs the +3 with 8.3″. Shurna’s final attempt is difficult and ends up on the iron: Trento completes the feat and overtakes Gran Canaria, removing the 0 from the win box.

Crawford’s conditions need to be clarified, as he went out injured in the third quarter.

Scoreboards

Trento: Spagnolo 13, Flaccadori 12, Lockett 12, Udom 9, Atkins 8, Grazulis 6, Crawford 5, Conti 5, Forray 5, Ladurner 0, Dell’Anna ne, Zangheri ne

Gran Canaria: Diop 21, Benite 14, Brussino 8, Inglis 6, Shurna 6, Bassas 5, Salvo 4, Albicy 3, Slaughter 3, Balcerowski 2, Stevic 0, Mutaf ne