The lights of the Allianz Dome shine on over 4,000 spectators of the challenge between Trieste – returning from three consecutive victories – e Napoli, which in the last three days has beaten Milan and Sassari and is 4 points below the red and white in the standings. The intentions of the guests are to overturn that 92-95 of PalaBarbuto which represented Trieste’s first victory of the season. The role of ex on duty belongs to coach Pancotto, on the Trieste bench in the 1997/1998 and 1998/1999 seasons and then from 2001 to 2004. Among the blue shirts, the No. 9 is that of Nicolò Dellosto from Trieste, from the Azzurra school.
Coach Legovich’s starting five is made up of Davis. Bartley, Deangeli, Lever and Spencer, Pancotto replies with Young, Michineau, Dellosto, Williams and Davis. Under a deafening cheer begins the match with Trieste that does not conclude the first attack, while for the guests the axis Michineau-Williams produces the first basket of the match. Davis and Spencer put things right, taking advantage of two turnovers by the guests and with a 7-0 run Trieste tries to escape after two and a half minutes. Baskets also arrive from the match between Trieste: Dellosto on one side, Deangeli on the other, while Michineau scores a triple of -1. At half time, Spencer’s basket gives the red and whites some oxygen back, leading 11-8. The pace of the match is not very high and the defenses have time to position themselves and make penetrations difficult. Michineau is a sentence and finds another triple, which allows guests to complete the comeback. After Ruzzier’s free throws Napoli finds two more baskets from 6 and 75 by Stewart and Zerini, who determine the first advantage 3 minutes from the first siren. Trieste’s reaction is gritty, but not effective enough and the guests still take advantage of it; the extension fails, because Bartley from the line and Gaines from the striker bring the red and white back to -1, with Napoli not taking advantage of the last ball.
It starts again with Trieste eager to take back the match: Bartley gets the pass for the foul line and puts in the two free throws of the new advantage. Zanotti absolutely disagrees and scores a heavy basket, a sign of a very balanced match so far without tears. Particularly productive minutes pass for both formations, with Naples however not giving up the acquired advantage and Trieste which does not seem to have sharpened its weapons yet. Bartley is the driving force behind the hosts: he sets the pace for the shares and willingly sets up on his own to produce turnover. Davis relieves him by loading the red and white attack on his shoulders, but it is not enough to contain the effectiveness of the Neapolitan attack which seamlessly sends Williams and Michineau to the basket. Coach Legovich inserts Ruzzier again to restore order in the construction phase and it is precisely from the No. 10 in the red jersey that the assist for Bartley’s triple arrives which sets the Allianz Dome on fire. Excellent work by Spencer under the bridge, both in attack and in defense and in an amen Trieste puts his nose forward 3 minutes from the end of the fraction. Returning from the timeout, Deangeli didn’t capitalize on an assist from Ruzzier from the arc, but Trieste was good in defense to force the Neapolitans to force a shot and earn two free throws which Ruzzier converted. When there are 2 minutes left in the quarter it is coach Pancotto who calls for the minute to put order after the second lost in as many actions by his. The music doesn’t change: first Vildera and then Bartley from 3 find a mini break that brings the red and whites forward on +6. Another 60″ pause for reflection for GeVi. The last possession is from Trieste with Bossi who retouches the partial again, closing the first half of the match on 42 to 34 for the hosts.
The beginning of the second half is still of a red and white matrix, with Spencer making his way into the painted area and giving +10 to Trieste. Errors flocked from both sides of the parquet, while it was Spencer who stood up as a protagonist even in the defensive phase, while Bartley put in another triple, forcing the Neapolitan bench to call time-out after the 5-0 home win. Coming out of the time-out Trieste is still pushing on the accelerator, with Davis putting 5 consecutive points for +18 and 10-0 partial, interrupted by Michineau’s basket. Trieste continues to grind kilometers and produce turnover, driven by a cheer that now reaches the highest decibels since the beginning of the season, involving the whole building. At half time the scoreboard reads 54-39. The pride of Naples comes out at a distance and provokes the expected reaction of the guests, who try to restart the game: Howard pushes away his goals, while Vildera has her work cut out to contain Zanotti’s energy under the basket. Trieste reaches the bonus and now seems to have lost the compass a bit, while maintaining the double-digit advantage; coach Legovich calls his friends back to the pine tree and tries to reverse the trend he brought back under the guests. Ruzzier presses on the accelerator and goes to support the scoreboard twice, in the middle Zanotti’s triple that brings Napoli back to -9. In the frantic final it is still Ruzzier who scores the basket from the average that closes the fraction with Trieste ahead by 11.
The beginning of the last quarter is at a very high pace and the triple from Gaines’ corner breaches the screams of the fans in the stands. Napoli recovers with Zerini’s three free throws (foul by Pacher), but Trieste gives the clear impression of holding the game firmly in its own hands. Thrill in the third minute for a bad fall by Ruzzier (foul by Williams), who however promptly gets up and stays on the pitch. Naples tries to react, but the Trieste defense closes every hole and the guests can only rely on the shot from outside, which has given good results so far (as also for Trieste). Michineau finds a way to penetrate Trieste’s rearguard and brings 4 gold points to the cause, which puts the guests back under a double-digit disadvantage of 8 points. At half time the disadvantage drops to 6 thanks to Williams and Trieste is time-out to find rhythm and conviction. Coming off the bench is not the best for Trieste, Bartley makes a mistake and on the other hand it is Young who definitively puts Napoli back in the game. Perhaps. Because the one who really doesn’t agree is Davis, who gets up from the tip and hits a triple that’s like fresh water after a walk in the mountains. The following action causes the building to explode: a block by Spencer, another block by Deangeli who launches Bartley on the counterattack, concluded with a flight to the basket and a dunk by the No. 24. There are two minutes to go when Ruzzier cues Spencer alone under the basket and serves him the assist for the basket of the new +10 on a silver platter. Naples lowers its weapons, petrol is running out and Trieste travels on velvet. The last 75 seconds with three Trieste players on the pitch – Ruzzier, Bossi and Deangeli – are the final runway for the red and white, who deservedly bring home a victory, the fourth in a row, very important in terms of the championship, against a direct opponent who in any case comes out heads high from the Allianz Dome (pallacanestrotrieste.it).
BASKETBALL TRIESTE – GEVI NAPLES BASKETBALL 85-68
Basketball Trieste: Gaines 8, Pacher 0, Bossi 5, Davis 16, Spencer 16, Deangeli 5, Ruzzier 11, Campogrande 0, Vildera 2, Bartley 22, Lever 0. Coach: Legovich. Assistants: Maffezzoli, Vicenzutto.
Ge.Vi. Naples Basket: Zerini 10, Howard 5, Young 4, Michineau 16, Dellosto 3, Matera ne, Davis 0, Uglietti 4, Williams 7, Stewart 10, Zanotti 9, Grassi ne. Coach: Pancotto. Assistants: Cavaliere, Gabriele.
Partial: 18-19 / 24-15 / 21-20 / 20-14
Progressives: 18-19 / 42-34 / 65-54
Referees: Mazzoni, Perciavalle, Capotorto.
