Napoli Basket closed out the Lovari Trophy with a strong third-place finish. After falling in the semifinal to Partizan Belgrade, Coach Magro’s Azzurri bounced back and claimed the 3rd-place game with a 91–76 victory over Libertas Livorno.
Napoli started off well with baskets from Caruso and Simms, and a three-pointer from Gentile gave them a 12–4 lead midway through the opening quarter. With Flagg’s impact off the bench, the Azzurri stretched the margin to 15–6. Livorno tried to respond, but Napoli closed the first quarter up 21–12. The second period opened with a three from Faggian, followed by a strong push from an inspired El-Amin that extended the lead to 36–17. Croswell and Bolton added key points, and Napoli went into halftime with a 52–36 advantage.
In the third quarter, Napoli managed the lead well. With baskets from Flagg, they remained up 62–46 midway through the period. Coach Magro made several rotations, and the Azzurri maintained control, closing the quarter ahead 72–58. In the final quarter, Croswell, Caruso, and Simms scored the first buckets, sparking a 7–0 run. A big dunk from Flagg pushed the margin to 81–61, Napoli’s largest lead of the night. Gentile added more points to extend the lead to +26, and the Azzurri closed out the game with a well-deserved 91–76 win, controlling the contest from start to finish.
Napoli Basket will be back in action next Saturday, September 13, at 8:30 PM in Verona, where they will face Tezenis, a team from Italy’s Serie A2, in a preseason friendly.
Box Score:
Flagg 20, Croswell 17, Gentile 10, Bolton 10, Caruso 9, Simms 8, El-Amin 8, Faggian 5, Saccoccia 4, Gloria, Forchetta, Manè.
Coach Magro’s comments:
“This was a very useful and productive tournament. We were able to explore several different situations and options this team has in its arsenal. I’m pleased with how the players responded—we managed to rotate everyone. It was definitely a different game to yesterday, as they were less physical than Partizan, which allowed us to get out in transition. We found a lot of solutions in the open court, though we certainly need to improve our ball security, as we turned it over a bit too much. But I believe this is the best time to make mistakes, because it shows us exactly where we need to improve.”
Credits: Amici della Pallacanestro Lucca