Guerri Napoli suffered a clear defeat on the road against Pallacanestro Trieste for 110-84 in the twentieth round of Serie A. The game was just decided in the first quarter, with Trieste leading by 15 thanks to a sensational shooting performance. Guerri Napoli was without Caruso, who is still recovering from the left ankle sprain he suffered in practice before the game against Reyer Venezia.
Trieste started strong with a 9-0 run led by former player Brown. Flagg scored for Napoli, but Ramsey's baskets brought Trieste back to 18-8. Sissoko and Bolton exchanged blows, Uthoff scored another 3-pointer, and Napoli called a timeout with the score at 23-14 with four minutes remaining. Guerri tried to respond through Flagg, but DeAngeli scored on a tap-in. In the final minutes, Trieste had two more 3-pointers, making it 38-23 after the first quarter. Trieste continues to accelerate in the second half. Totè scores with a foul, but Uthoff and Ross hit 3-pointers again to make it a 20-point lead midway through the quarter. Magro calls a timeout. Trieste never misses a 3-pointer, and the score goes into halftime at 70-45 In the second half, Trieste controlled and increased its lead. Guerri tried to respond, bringing the lead to within 18 points during the third quarter, where Trieste closed at +23, 90 to 67. The final quarter only served to set the final score at 110-84.
The Azzurri will return to the field on Thursday, February 19, at 8:45 pm against Italian champions Virtus Bologna, in the quarter-finals of the Final Eight of the Italian Cup.
President Matt Rizzetta:
"I apologize on behalf of everyone. This is not a performance we can accept for the Neapolitan people who always support us. We'll reflect in the coming weeks to ensure we're ready after the FIBA break, and we'll certainly give everything for the Coppa Italia Final Eight."
Dichiarazione Coach Alessandro Magro:
"We played a mediocre game last week. We came here with the intention of playing with energy and fight for our shirt, to prove that we deserve the shirt we wear and the opportunity the club is giving us. We faded very quickly. We tried, but at the first difficulty we faded, making the same mistakes we can no longer accept. We lost the ball in trivial ways and didn't share our play. There's little to say. We're very lucky because a competition that doesn't affect the standings is about to begin. We need to quickly reset and understand that if you want to be part of this group, you have to play together. I don't want to take credit away from Trieste. We absolutely must react because we have a responsibility to give more than we gave tonight, and we want these kinds of matches to be just a fluke and not get used to performances like this."