Guerri Napoli secured a great win over Openjobmetis Varese for 104-75 in the matchday twenty-third of the Serie A , played this evening at the Alcott Arena. The Azzurri, with Doyle making his debut, played a strong first half, closed on 47-19, and then controlled the game in the second.
Guerri starts strong, led by Totè and Flagg. Varese responded with Iroegbu making free throws to bring the score to 6-10, but Flagg's three-pointer brought the score to 15-6. The Azzurri defended well, and Caruso recovered the ball and dunked on the break, forcing Kastritis to call a timeout. At the end of the period, Varese scored its first three-pointer through Stewart, but the Azzurri, with Caruso and Bolton, closed the quarter ahead 25-13. Guerri started the second quarter strongly with a 16-0 run, with Doyle scoring his first basket for the Azzurri and Bolton making a 3-point play. The score was 38-13 at the half ot the quarter. Openjobmetis scored its first basket with Stewart after six minutes. Doyle's 3-pointer gave Guerri a 30-point lead, and the quarter ended with the Azzurri up 47-19 after Moore's basket.
In the third quarter, Varese seemed to start well with a 0-4 run, but Guerri responded immediately through Bolton. Iroegbu and El Amin exchanged three-pointers, with Waley blocks Nkamhoua. With five minutes remaining, the score was 57-28. Napoli ran on the break and Toté dunked, Iroegbu hit a three-pointer, Doyle drove in, and Freeman made another three. In the final minutes, Varese found another three-pointer through Librizzi, Stewart hit free throws, and Bolton drove in. The score went into the final quarter at 73-44 with Doyle's three-pointer at the buzzer. In the final quarter, the Azzurri, led by El Amin and Doyle, extended their lead further . The match ended 104-75 in favor of Guerri. The Azzurri will return to the field next Sunday, March 29th at 5:00 pm on the Vanoli Cremona’s court.
Box Score:
Whaley 8, Flagg 12, El-Amin 15, Faggian 3, Marshall 5, Gloria, Treier 2, Gentile, Doyle 18, Caruso 6, Totè 16, Bolton 19.
Coach Magro:
"We made this game look easy, but it wasn't at all. We managed to play a very careful game defensively. It's just a victory, but a very important one, given how it came about. It's crucial for the team and for the fans. We want to build on this project. We've been in great difficulty, and perhaps haven't yet overcome it. Tonight, a player like Doyle, who arrived two days ago, was crucial. We were missing a player like that. It's unfortunate that there was a protest, but it's absolutely understandable. It's up to us to show what we are. This is a fragile team, but it's not a disinterested team. Tonight, we hope to have overcome some of these difficulties. We hope this game can give us the right spark for the future.
Milton Doyle:
"It was a great team performance. I really enjoyed playing in this environment; it was truly inspiring. I'm very happy with my performance and I thank my teammates. Now we'll take it one game at a time, preparing for a great championship final run."
credits. Chiara Silvestri