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Basketball Serie A2
With 26 points scored, 11 fouls conceded and 4 assists dispensed, the American CJ Kelly is the MVP of the evening
The celebration in the locker rooms after the victory against Rieti (f. Monferrato Basket)
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After having obtained the first victory of the season against Agrigento, Novipiù seeks confirmation in the match – still at home – against Real Sebastiani Rieti, who are doing very well at the start of the season. The rossoblu had an excellent start and in the first half with Calzavara and Martinoni they found a good game and excellent baskets: only the former Sarto seemed to be able to keep the Lazio players afloat. In the second quarter the match becomes fragmented, with many referee whistles, protests and play continually interrupted: in the confusion Rieti finds fertile ground and, with a partial score of 19-26 in the second quarter, ends the first half ahead by one basket. In the second half the match was played at a good pace: Pepper and Kelly led the Casale attack, Calzavara found very heavy baskets. In the final Novipiù defends the lead with teeth and order. Excellent contribution, even if not flashy in the score, from Castellino and Fantoma, players who don’t hold back on the pitch. After the lottery of shots from the foul line, the party can light up again at the Palazzetto: Novipiù wins the second match in a row celebrated by its fans.
Novipiù lines up at the tap-off with the same quintet that took the field seven days ago at the “PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris” with Calzavara, Kelly, Pepper, Poom and Martinoni. The first points of the match were scored by the former Sarto from behind the arc, to which Calzavara always responded with a triple. The rossoblu start off strong, trying to control the pace of the match. Hogue commits two fouls in 5′, suffering greatly against coach Di Bella’s 2-3 zone. Sarto keeps Real Sebastiani in the game, scoring continuously: in the 7th minute the scoreboard says 13-12 for the home team. Kelly quickly burns coach Rossi’s defense after Zucca’s great defense, while the other ex of the match, Italian, also gets on the scoresheet with the triple of 18-15. The first quarter ends with Novi ahead by 5 points (22-17). Rieti continues to suffer from Casale’s zone defense, even if in the first possessions of the second period they try to build the game with more patience. Ancellotti and Sarto lead Rieti in the first acceleration of the guests: the 0-6 partial leads coach Di Bella to stop the game (27-26 at 13′). Calzavara is “on fire” and with his tenth personal point he brings Novipiù to 31-27. Jazz Johnson tries to light up with a 3+1 game that scores 34 all in the 16th minute. The technical foul for protests against Hogue is a boulder for coach Rossi. A few too many protests arise from the Real Sebastiani bench: Alessandro Rossi has to intervene, calling him to calm down and vouching with the referees. The tension on the pitch affects the quality of the two teams’ play, which drops drastically. Petrovic tries to bring order, while Sarto takes the lead for the second time in the match with Rieti (39-40). Pepper gets a technical foul after scoring from underneath. Poom commits a foul with 0.2” on the clock: a naivety that allows Rieti to end the first quarter ahead 41-43 thanks to the free throws made by Petrovic.
When the teams return from the locker rooms, Pepper and Sarto engage in a beautiful ballistic duel, competing in the three-point shot from the corner. A lot was scored in the third quarter: Pepper scored his seventh point in 5 minutes of the second half, bringing the teams to 53 all. CJ Kelly’s triple at 58-55 – counter-overtaking by Novipiù – convinces coach Rossi to stop the game (27th minute). Ancellotti commits his fourth solo by stopping Zucca: the management of the big men at Rieti becomes critical. Johnson struggled to get into the game, while Kelly, with the game stopped, put Novipiù up 5 (64-59 in the 29th minute). Johnson makes an isolated three at the buzzer of the quarter, which ends 64-62. Calzavara replies to Italiano basket after basket; from Castellino the new rossoblù +5 (73-68 at 34′). Coach Rossi takes a risk by putting Hogue back on the field; with both Americans on the parquet Rieti returns to being very efficient in the offensive half of the pitch. Pepper, cunningly, wins the free throws for +7 (84-77 at 36′). Petrovic finds the basket of hope for Rieti, while Hogue begins to dominate in the paint. Kelly’s twenty-first personal point forces the Rieti bench to stop the match (88-82 with 1’40” from the final siren); upon returning from the time-out Johnson misses the front triple. Kelly, in isolation, however, makes no mistakes and keeps Novipiù ahead. Martinoni scores the score to make it 92-86, but stops Spanghero on the turnaround, committing his fifth personal foul. Real Sebastiani resorts to a systematic foul with 30” remaining on the clock: Kelly keeps the rossoblù at +5. The match ends with a score of 97-92.
There are four players in rossoblu vests who finish the match in double figures: Martinoni reaches 18 with a final rating of +23, while a wild Calzavara ends with 19 points (3/4 from behind the arc). Pepper also had a double double, with 22 points scored and 11 rebounds. Novipiù’s top scorer is CJ Kelly, author of 26 points, 4 assists and 11 fouls suffered, for an overall rating of +40. 88 points were scored by the starting quintet of Novipiù. After 20′ of play Casale had a scoring percentage of 38% (with 6/21 from three), while Real Sebastiani converted 45% of attempts into points. At the end of the match Novipiù scored points in 50% of the shots it constructed, Rieti in 47%. The rossoblu’s negative rebounding streak continues, having lost the match also in this match by 31-38.
This is coach’s comment Fabio Di Bella in the press room: «I am very happy with this test and I am happy because this is a real team. Everything we are doing, day after day, is proof of this. We are playing every match point to point and this, for a coach, is worth more than a thousand training sessions. We are doing important work both physically and mentally. I believe that the head does much more than talent and physique. We are working a lot on this aspect and if we never give up in the end, it will mean something. The beauty of having a team with many young people is this. With its ups and downs. I really appreciate the attitude these guys have. Thanks to everyone, including the coaching staff and the operational board where everyone works to always improve. Due to emergencies and tactical choices, we had to use the area for many minutes. Fabi’s absence penalizes us a bit, but we studied all week how to counter an excellent team like Rieti. There is great feeling with this group and it is not just linked to results: it is really a human factor. Congratulations to Rieti because they played an excellent match. Of course, Hogue’s fouls affected her but we also have our problems, so she’s okay with it. I said it in Trapani: sport always rewards and today, with merit, we were rewarded”.
NOVIPIU’ MONFERRATO BASKET – REAL SEBASTIANI RIETI 97-92 (22-17; 41-43; 64-62)
NOVIPIU’: Kelly 26 (5/6, 2/5), Pepper 22 (3/7, 4/9), Calzavara 19 (4/6, 3/4), Martinoni 18 (7/10, 0/3), Zucca 4 (1/1, 0/2), Castellino 3 (1/1, 0/3), Pianegonda 3 (1/2 from three), Fantoma 2 (1/1, 0/2), Poom (0/1, 0/1). Bertaina, Fabi and Baj ne All. F. Di Bella.
RIETI: Johnson 23 (2/4, 4/9), Sarto 23 (3/4, 5/7), Petrovic 16 (3/3, 2/3), Italiano 10 (0/1, 3/4), Spanghero 7 (2/5, 0/3), Hogue 5 (2/2), Ancellotti 4 (2/8, 0/1), Raucci 2 (0/3, 0/1), Nobile 2 (1/2, 0 /2), Fratton. Little one All. A. Rossi.
2023-10-21 22:10:07
#Monferrato #victory #row #Novipiù #stops #Real #Sebastiani #Rieti #PalaEnergica
