As in the last championship, Banco wins hands down at the PalaSerradimigni against Happy Casa: 111-93. Game that lasted for a while, then the 13-0 break in the third quarter made of defense and transition broke the game.
Two opposing philosophies in comparison in the first quarter: Sassari uses a lot of three-point shooting (6/9) while Brindisi never shoots from the arc and always attacks the iron with the whole quintet. Dinamo reaches +6 twice and also +7 in the second quarter: 34-27 in the 13th minute.
The Happy Casa remembers that there are also triples and with Riisma and Bowman it shortens: 34-33. Sassari extends with Stephens well served by Jones: +7 in the 17th minute. The other good news in the middle of the match is the rebound domination: 23-9 for Bucchi's team.
At the opening of the third quarter, the former Burnell packs the overtake with two bombs: 55-56 in the 23rd minute. Jones answers him with 5 points in a row and then between defense and triple Sassari takes off with a break of 13-0: 68-56 in the 25th minute. Fouls by Stephens and a slight injury to Diop force Bucchi to play without a pivot, with Treier as a "long" but by now the match is downhill, the host defense less mobile than a crib and Banco reaches 100 with the bomb of Kind when there are just under 7 minutes left in the game.
The tables
Sassari: Jones 15 Robinson 8 Dowe 15 Kruslin 16 Devecchi, Treier 9 Chessa ne, Stephens 6 Bendzius 20 Gentile 15 Raspino, Diop 7 All. Bucchi.
Toast: Etou 4 Burnell 15 Reed 20 Bowman 8 De Donno, Mascolo 6, Bocevski ne, Midnight 12 Riismaa 3 Bayehe 4 Perkins 21 Dixon. Herds Vitucci.
***
The report cards:
Jones 7: Comes up with two triples, then drops in the second quarter, then engages in a spectacular duel with his predecessor Burnell in the third.
Robinson 7: Good approach, without overdoing it, playing for the team in the first place: 8 points at rest. In the second half he suffers a physical problem and is rested.
Dowe 7.5: He still starts in the quintet and shows confidence both in support of Robinson and as a point guard (6 assists).
Kruslin 7.5: Does a little bit of everything and does it well. He confirms himself as one of the best shooters in the league.
Treier 7: Many minutes on the pitch (22) which also make him regain confidence in attack, in fact he ends up with 9 points, with a two-handed dunk similar to the one that caused him the right elbow injury with the national team. He also adds 6 rebounds.
Stephens 6: Two blocks, two fouls and no points in the first quarter. Held back by fouls also in the rest of the match, he was on the pitch for only 16 minutes but always helped the team.
Bendzius 7.5: Diesel starts, it takes a quarter to warm up, then opens the fire and closes with 4/5 from three.
Kind 7: He has a mad desire to be useful again. He manages to do it in the second half and goes into double figures for the first time this season. Also an assist between the legs model Teodosic.
Diop 6.5: Generous but also clumsy but without Perkins he makes himself felt inside the box. In the second half a slight contusion made him leave the field.
Bucchi (encl.) 7.5: Very well prepared match, starting with the rebounds. Evident the raising of two notches in defense after the interval. The team entertains the public like never before in the season.
