Pallacanestro Trieste wins their first match of the season by defeating Napoli Basket 78-84 at the Alcott Arena. Gonzalez’s team is more precise in decisive moments, despite a 9-23 third quarter, thanks above all to the leadership of Colbey Ross in the final minutes, author of 15 points. With him four other Trieste players in double figures. Naz Mitrou-Long’s 21 and Aamir Simms’ 13 were useless for Napoli. The Neapolitan team pays above all for the terrible percentage from the field, the confusion in attack and therefore the 21 turnovers, despite
FIRST QUARTER | Napoli Basket – Trieste Basketball
First quarter balanced between the two teams. At the start it was Simms for Naples and the former Markel Brown for Trieste who led their teammates and authors by 7 and 6 points respectively in a row. But the match, despite the already high pace, is not offensively spectacular. 19-19 after the first 10 minutes.
SECOND QUARTER | Napoli Basket – Trieste Basketball
In the second half the pace picks up and more baskets arrive. Moretti definitively enters the game and scores 7 of Trieste’s first 10 points of the second quarter, bringing Gonzalez’s team to 29-28. However, Napoli stalls, commits a few too many turnovers and after Ramsey’s triple, Magro is forced to call the first timeout of the match at 32-39 and after having suffered a 10-2 partial. El-Amin, author of 12 points in the second quarter alone, tries to keep the Neapolitans upright, but Trieste also manages to go +9 after another triple by Brown and free throws by Ramsey, these caused by Simms’ third foul: bad news for Magro. After a three-point play by a now unblocked El-Amin and two free throws by Ross, we go to the locker room with the score 39-47.
THIRD QUARTER | Napoli Basket – Trieste Basketball
Napoli enters the field differently, in defense they press and recover several balls to run on the counterattack. Mitrou-Long, who hadn’t been heard since the first quarter, made a lay-up to make it 50-54, which lit up PalaBarbuto and forced Trieste’s timeout. The guests are now on the ball and Napoli continues to grind out steals and points on the counterattack, after a solo basket under Gentile’s basket, Napoli goes to +6 and forces Trieste into another timeout. The third quarter is totally blue with a run of 23-9. With 10 minutes to go it’s 62-56 for Magro’s men.
FOURTH QUARTER | Napoli Basket – Trieste Basketball
Trieste goes ahead again in an amen with an 8-0 partial. However, Napoli reacts promptly with El-Amin and Mitrou-Long to get back to +2 (66-64). The sides exchange baskets until Napoli loses their bearings a bit and Colbey Ross, a giant in the last quarter, scores a decisive triple that brings his team up 7 with 54 seconds left. The hosts try to recover, but it’s too late, it ends 78-84.
