Openjobmetis Varese defeats Napoli 84-80 at the end of a hard-fought match that was overturned at the end. Moore was the absolute protagonist with 24 points, decisive in key moments, well supported by Stewart’s 17 and Nkamhoua’s complete performance (16 points and 9 rebounds). It is the third consecutive victory for the red and whites, the sixth in the last eight, a sign of great continuity. Next Sunday at 4pm the match will take place on the Treviso Basket pitch, a match that will close the first round and define the eight qualifiers for the Final Eight of the Italian Cup.
Napoli started better with Flagg and Mitrou-Long, immediately finding the advantage, but Varese responded blow for blow: Renfro, Alviti and especially Nkamhoua overturned the inertia by taking the red and whites ahead. Openjobmetis extends with Moore, Stewart and Alviti again, even reaching +7 at 17-10, but in the final quarter Guerri remains in their wake thanks to Crosswell, Bolton and Flagg, with Varese still finishing ahead at 10′ 20-18.
Openjobmetis starts strong again with Nkamhoua and Alviti rising to +6, but Napoli changes pace: Simms signs the overtaking with an important partial, well supported by Faggian and Bolton. The blues extend to +10 (30-40), even if in the final Moore tries to put the red and whites back in the running with three consecutive baskets. At 20′ the score was 38-42.
Varese returns to the field with great energy: Moore and Nkamhoua immediately score the equalizer, but Napoli responds with Mitrou-Long and Crosswell coming back ahead. The red and whites react with a partial that is worth overtaking thanks to Stewart, Librizzi and Moore, reaching 53-50. Napoli remains linked with El-Amin and Mitrou-Long, but in the final Assui closes the third quarter with Varese 62-60.
Openjobmetis suffers at the start of the last quarter, with Napoli placing a partial up to +7 dragged by El-Amin, Bolton and Flagg. The red and whites react with character: Librizzi, Stewart and Moore put the game back in balance until overtaking at 74-73, which leads to coach Magro’s timeout. In the point-to-point final, Napoli Basket remains in contact, but Stewart and Moore make the decisive extension for the final 84-80.
THE SCORESHEET – THE WORDS OF GIANNIS KASTRITIS
