Final preseason test for Napoli Basketball before the start of the regular season. Coach Magro’s team was defeated in a friendly game in Spain by Girona, a Liga ACB club, with a final score of 118-96.
Napoli got off to a strong start, going up 3-11 thanks to threes from Bolton, Mitrou-Long, and Simms, plus a bucket by Caruso. Girona immediately answered with a 10-0 run to take the lead at 13-11, forcing Magro to call timeout. Girona found more points from beyond the arc and stretched the margin to 27-17 with three minutes left in the first quarter. Napoli responded with an 0-8 run to cut it to 27-25. The first period ended with Girona ahead 31-27. Girona came out firing in the second quarter with a 15-0 run that forced another Napoli timeout. The Azzurri couldn’t get back on track, scoring only 15 points in the period, and the half ended with the Spanish side up 70-42.
Napoli tried to close the gap early in the third quarter, showing some signs of life, but Girona’s three-point shooting was relentless. Midway through the period it was 83-55. Despite Napoli finding some shots from deep, Girona maintained control and closed the third quarter leading 97-66. In the final stretch, led by a determined Flagg, Napoli started with a 2-10 run. At the halfway mark Girona was still ahead 105-80. In the closing minutes Napoli tried to cut into the deficit, getting within 107-87 with three minutes left, but Girona sealed the win 118-96.
Box Score:
Flagg 30, Bolton 16, Mitrou-Long 14, El-Amin 11, Simms 8, Faggian 5, Croswell 4, Caruso 4, Gentile 2, Saccoccia 2, Treier, Gloria D.N.P.
Coach Magro’s comment:
“We wrapped up our preseason against another high-level team, very well coached by my dear friend Moncho Fernandez. They run the floor extremely well and are excellent from three-point range, and those two factors really hurt us, especially in the first half, when we struggled to set up our half-court defense. They pushed the pace and knocked down open shots, finishing with 63% from three. On the bright side, we finally had our full roster available, which allowed us to try different lineups and see what combinations might work best in certain situations. We have another week to practice and get ready for the start of the season, which won’t be easy since we open on the road in Bologna against Virtus. We trust in the work we’re doing, and we intentionally scheduled our preseason to finish against two teams of this caliber. The challenges we faced tonight give us plenty of material to work on, especially on the defensive end, which is the area where we can and must improve the most.”
Napoli Basket will be back in action next Monday, October 6, in the Serie A opener on the road against reigning Italian champions Virtus Bologna.
Credits: Sergi Geronès