Great performances for Guerri Napoli, returning to win dominating Vanoli Cremona 102-76 in this evening's match, valid for the eleventh round of the Serie A championship, at the Alcott Arena. The Azzurri, without the full support of Caruso due to a fever, played a game of great intensity and determination, and with this win they move up to eighth place in the standings.
The first scome of the game was by Willis, a 3-pointer, Mitrou-Long and Casarini scored, Bolton made a three, and Simms tied the game after three minutes. Guerri took the lead for the first time with Flagg, Anigbogu tied the score, and Croswell brought the score to 14-10. Vanoli scored again with Anigbogu, but Simms struck again from long range. Durham responded, and the quarter ended with Guerri leading 20-17. Flagg's three-pointer, Jones scores on a drive, and Casarin brings Vanoli back to 23-21. Napoli scores for a short break, Bolton scores with a foul, and Vanoli calls a timeout. Cremona scores again through Jones, and Guerri goes up 9-0 through Treier, El Amin, and Mitrou-Long, making it 37-23, prompting another Vanoli timeout. Veronesi and Flagg exchange three-pointers, before Croswell scores four consecutive points, and Mitrou-Long makes it 47-28. The score goes into halftime at 54-35 with a triple from Treier.
Cremona got off to a good start in the second half, with a 5-0 run interrupted by Simms. Flagg and Bolton brought Guerri to a 64-42 lead. Durham scored for Cremona, but Flagg dunked an alley-oop to make it 67-48. Vanoli called a timeout. Treier made a 3-pointer, Grant made a 3-point play, and Bolton scored on a drive. Guerri went into the final break with the score 75-57. Three-pointers for Faggian and Treier, the Azzurri jump to a 24-point lead again with Faggian. The final minutes of the game set the score 102-76 for Guerri, with the final score by Mirko Gloria on his debut, who celebrated the victory with the Alcott Arena fans.
Guerri Napoli will return to the field next Sunday, December 21st, at 4:00 pm, away to Reyer Venezia.
Box Score:
Flagg 21, Mitrou-Long 11, El-Amin 9, Croswell 14, Faggian 5, Saccoccia, Gloria 2, Treier 14, Gentile, Simms 11, Caruso, Bolton 15.
Coach Magro:
“This is a very important win for our goals. We wanted to restart with a strong performance, in front of our home crowd, which is crucial for us. We played better than we expected. It was a game that offered many challenges. We played at a great pace, and after a little difficult start, we took control of the game. We managed to put in a good three-point performance and read the game very well. Cremona is a team capable of causing problems for their opponents, and we were always able to respond to their attempts. Everyone contributed to this victory, and this increases our confidence in the work we're doing. We're still there, regretting games that could have ended differently. There are four games left in the first half of the season, and we want to keep dreaming big.”
Kaspar Treier:
“We did a good job, everything we worked on during the week came together, both on defense and on offense.”