UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia wins against Estra Pistoia, which is relegated from Serie A

UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia 86Estra Pistoia 72 Banford 14, Winston 11, Gombauld 4, Smith 15, Uglietti 10, Carboni, Deme 2, Faried 22, Grant 2, Chillo 4, Cheatham 2. Coach PriftisPISTOIA Benetti 6, Della Rosa 5, Ceron 1, Paschall 9, Pinelli, Cooke 12, Forrest 17, Boglio 4, Stoch 3, Saccaggi 4, Allen 8, Valerio-Bodon 3. Coach OkornREFEREES Rossi, Pepponi, Lucotti

NOTES Partials: 22-20; 40-36; 62-58. Two-pointers Reggio Emilia 25/48, Pistoia 17/39. Three-pointers Reggio Emilia 6/20, Pistoia 9/28. Free throws Reggio Emilia 18/18, Pistoia 11/23.

Estra Pistoia says goodbye to the A league with a defeat, the twenty-third of this season, at the end of a match that had very little to say. By virtue of the direct clashes against Scafati, the red and whites finished in last place. But they still get the moving embrace of the over two hundred Pistoia fans who came to Emilia to give a final, heartbreaking farewell to the team and staff after an unfortunate year.

The intensity is that of a summer friendly and it couldn't be otherwise given that Reggio Emilia he already has his mind on playoff and Pistoia at the final break. The game is played on the quiet with the two teams limiting themselves to doing the bare minimum without working too hard. Soft defenses and attacks that have the green light to act. It goes point by point without anyone having the desire and intention to place the shoulder that could shake up the game. The only excitement comes at the buzzer of the first quarter with the basket scored by captain Della Rosa from half court. In the second period the script is always the same with the two teams going hand in hand and with Reggio Emilia that manages to take a slight advantage thanks to the naive foul by Ceron on Winston's three-point shot that gives the plus 4 to the locals.

Upon returning from the locker rooms, the game comes to life: Forrest, who until that moment had been a non-paying spectator, wakes up and starts doing what he does best: scoring three-pointers. Two triples in a row open the quarter and bring the match back to perfect parity: 42-42. Allen follows him and with another triple nails the score at 45-45. Reggio has a burst of pride and with a partial of 8-0 flies to plus 9 (56-47). Estra doesn't accept this and reacts with a counter break of 9-2 that brings them back in contact (58-56). BUT Reggio starts the last quarter strong with the intention of writing the final word on the match and after just 5 minutes they are up 13 (71-58). Pistoia can't handle the shock any longer and collapses badly. With 3' to go the score is a merciless minus 19 (81-62) with Estra untied and without ideas. But the applause from the crowd is still coming: we will start again from them.

Maurizio Innocenti