Guerri Napoli suffered a defeat against Reyer Venezia for 64-79 in the match of the day nineteen of Serie A, played this afternoon at the Alcott Arena. Totè made his debut for Coach Magro's team, while Caruso was out with a sprained ankle.
Players scored early in the game, with a double alley-oop by Totè. Tessitori responded for the visitors, and Bolton tied the score before a 6-0 mini-break for Venezia, led by Parks, 8-14. Napoli called a timeout. Guerri scored again with Bolton and Totè, but Venezia added points through Wheatle and Candi. Guerri again scored with Bolton and Totè, a three-pointer for him. At the buzzer, Wheatle made it 17-20. Venice got off to a strong start in the second quarter, led by Horton, with Simms closing the gap to 5 points, 21-26. The Azzurri were unable to score from long range, with Tessitori scoring from underneath and Gentile making it 25-32 with four minutes left, but Tessitori dunked again for Reyer. At the end of the quarter, Venice scored with Viltjer, a three-pointer for him, and the quarter ended 31-42.
Bolton and Wiltjer hit threes to open the third, Candi scored again from long range, and Flagg drove in to make it 36-50 midway through the third. The Azzurri tried to stay in the game with scores from El Amin and Mitrou Long, 42-52, forcing a Venice timeout. Alcott Arena made its presence felt, with Treier's free throws making it 47-53, but Valentine hit a three from deep after a caotic play. The quarter ended 49-59.
In the fourth quarter, Parks scored for Venice, Flagg scored on a fast break, but Parks again brought Venice back to a 12-point lead, 65-53. Magro called a timeout. The Azzurri tried their luck in the final minutes, but Reyer managed to maintain the lead, extending it to the final 64-79
Box Score:
Flagg 6, Mitrou-Long 8. El-Amin 13, Faggian, Treier 2, Simms 2, Gentile 2, Totè 20, Bolton 11, Caruso n.e., Gloria n.e., Esposito n.e.
Coach Alessandro Magro:
“We apologize for our first-half attitude. We were coming off two good home games, and tonight I expected a completely different game in terms of energy. This drop-off is completely unjustified. I saw a team objectively below the level of intensity we needed. We produced our worst shooting performance of the season; if you shoot 77 times at 33%, it's hard to win games. We get our energy from our offense; if your best players have such low percentages, it becomes really difficult. We're in trouble, without a doubt, and this game puts us in the position of having to examine ourselves. Games can be lost, but I don't like to do it with this attitude.”
The Azzurri will return to the field next Saturday, February 14th, at 8:00 pm on the Pallacanestro Trieste court.
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