Guerri Napoli suffered a defeat on the road against Germani Brescia 100-85 in the matchday twenty-fifth of the Serie A Championship, played this afternoon at the A2A Arena in Brescia. The Azzurri, without Treier, who will undergo surgery on the meniscus in his right knee this week, and Mitrou-Long, who is now close to returning, after playing a good first half, were forced to concede the return of Brescia, who extended their lead in the fourth quarter.
The Azzurri started well with scores from Tote and El Amin, while Brescia relied with Ivanovic. Guerri managed to extend their lead to six with two consecutive three-pointers from El Amin, but Burnell and Ndour kept Germani in the game at 15-17. Doyle, Flagg, and Caruso scored off the bench, but free throws from Ivanovic and Della Valle tied the score at 23-24 at halftime. In the second quarter, Bolton immediately hit a three-pointer, but the young player Santinon responded. Caruso blocked Della Valle and then made a score with foul, with Bolton doing the same. Guerri had a good run, with two three-pointers from El Amin taking the lead to 32-41. Napoli's attack stalled at the end of the period, and Germani managed to come back with Bilan and Burnell, 41-44 after two periods.
Marshall scored a three-pointer early in the second half, but Brescia seemed to step up their defense and, through Bilan, regained the lead. A back-and-forth between the big men, Bilan and Ndour scored for Germani, and Totè for Guerri. Two three-pointers from Della Valle gave Brescia +6 , and Napoli responded through Flagg, but it was Bilan and Mobio again who gave Brescia the break, leading by 13. In the final minutes, Bolton and Flagg made free throws to make it 70-61. Brescia started strong in the final quarter, reaching a 15-point lead with scores from Burnell from deep and from outside by Mobio. Guerri tried to stay in touch with Flagg and El Amin, who brought the Azzurri back to - 10, but Mobio again from the corner made it 86-73, Magro called a timeout. In the final, Della Valle's triple definitively sealed the game. The match ended on 100-85 for Germani.
Coach Alessandro Magro:
"It's very difficult to win in Brescia when you're down 17 shots and losing so many balls. We played a good first half, but struggled in the second. We needed and wanted to run more, but despite their absences, they did well to find confidence in their key players, scoring many points from steals. Now we need to focus on the game against Treviso next week, which will be crucial for us. We're completely focused on this game."
Guerri will return to the court next Sunday, April 12th, at 6:30 pm, at the Alcott Arena against Nutribullet Treviso.