T Gema wins against Gemini Mestre: third period is decisive

THE GEMA MCT TECHNICAL T

66

GEMINI MESTRE

59

MONTECATINI Burini 5, Chiarini 3, Toscano 14, D'Alessandro 15, Di Pizzo 18, Bedin 5, Savoldelli 3, Passoni 2, Stanic 1, Acunzo no, Cellerini no, Albelli no. Coach Del Re

MESTRE Mazzucchelli 4, Giordano 14, Brambilla, Lo Biondo 10, Galmarini 2, Aromando 14, Contento 8, Reggiani 4, Rubbini 3, Maiga ne, Porcu ne, Bizzotto ne. Coach Ferrari

REFEREES Silvestri and Lilli

Partial NOTES 18-22, 36-36, 54-43

PISTOIA

T Gema starts off the feared series against Gemini Mestre on the right foot: at the PalaCarrara in Pistoia, coach Marco Del Re's "lions" defeat the Venetians 66-59, digging the decisive gap in the third period, and then withstand the shock of the comeback of Aromando and his teammates in the final. The rebound data was decisive: 55-37 for the rossoblù.

A particularly reactive Di Pizzo pushes La T Gema at the start together with the omnipresent Toscano. Aromando scores 8 points between the first and second quarters allowing his team to wrest the reins of the match from Montecatini. The second quarter opens with Bedin who makes two mistakes in the space of thirty seconds, giving them a 3/3 free throw streak. From a possible -2 Gema finds himself at -7 (18-25) but manages to react with the usual strange pairing of Toscano-Di Pizzo, bringing themselves back to a possession away. The Florentine big man is definitely on fire: he is the first of his team to reach double figures in points and with the dunk on Passoni's assist he puts his signature on the new rossoblù overtaking. The match definitely picks up the pace and when the going gets tough Toscano feels at ease: it is the number 7 who opens the three-point box for La T Gema after 12 consecutive errors, but Mestre is there and ties the score at the long interval. Di Pizzo continues to be in the right place at the right time: taking advantage of the magical evening of its pivot, La T Gema takes a small margin, but it is thanks to two feats by D'Alessandro that the home team digs the first furrow of the match: 48-38.

Del Re's men, however, give away their best in their own half of the court, defending like madmen and allowing their opponents a paltry 7 points in the entire third period. Giordano practically single-handedly halves La T Gema's 11-point treasure and the inertia slowly passes into Mestre's hands, also because the Terme team no longer scores: with only 5 points in seven minutes Savoldelli and his teammates risk throwing everything away, Mestre returns to within a stone's throw of the "lions" but fails to overtake and in the end two senseless baskets by Burini, who had been quite silent until then, close the first chapter of a series that will likely still have a lot to tell.

Filippo Palazzoni