Napoli Basketball put on a superb performance on the second day of the BKT EuroCup. Coach Repesa’s team dominated in Montenegro, comfortably defeating highly rated Budućnost 93–75. It was the Azzurri’s second European win, putting them at the top of Group C in the BKT EuroCup. Napoli Basketball’s leading scorer was Seljaas with 23 points. White also finished in double figures with 17, as did Dowtin Jr. and Petrucelli. Marco Spissu recorded 11 assists.
The game was evenly balanced at the start. The Montenegrin team took an 8–4 lead through Molinar, but Seljaas and Caruso put the Azzurri back in front. Napoli hit three-pointers with Faggian and White, while Sankare threw down a dunk following a great assist from Spissu. Budućnost cut the deficit towards the end of the quarter after Brown was called for a flagrant foul, making it 19–25 at the first break. In the second quarter, Napoli produced a decisive run with to three-pointers from Brown and Seljaas, Shayok and Djordjevic responding for the home side. Petrucelli and Dowtin Jr. added points, while Morgan tried to keep his team within touching distance. However, baskets from Spissu and Petrucelli extended Napoli’s lead to 33–53 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the hosts tried to get back into the game through Ferrell, but Petrucelli and Seljaas kept the Azzurri firmly in control. Another assist from Spissu set up a dunk by White to make it 45–68, prompting a Budućnost timeout. Scoring slowed down towards the end of the quarter, with Dowtin Jr. hitting a mid-range jumper, while Bouteille and Djordjevic made it 51–75 heading into the final break. In the fourth quarter, the Azzurri managed their lead despite the hosts’ attempts to mount a comeback. Budućnost got as close as 15 points before Napoli pulled away again with a strong finish, led by Seljaas and a spectacular alley-oop connection between Spissu and White. Faggian also had time to knock down a three-pointer, sealing the final score at 75–93.
Dichiarazione Jasmin Repesa:
“It was a great win for us, perhaps easier than I expected, but these are things that can happen at the beginning of the season. We prepared for the game very well. Our first goal was to control the defensive rebounds. They are a taller team than us and stronger in the paint.
Once we started controlling the rebounds, we were able to run the floor and find easy baskets, which gave us confidence. That was the difference.
Now we have to forget about this game and focus on the next one. We play every three days, and we still don’t have enough experience to deal with games coming so close together.”
Napoli Basketball will return to action on Sunday, October 11, at 5:00 p.m., away against Pallacanestro Cantù, for the third round of the Serie A season.