Italian Cup Semifinals Roundup: Siena & Cantù Set for Rematch
By Giovanni Reale
The semifinals featured two close games 'til the end. But the winners were once again Mens Sana Siena and Pallacanestro Cantù, definitely the two best teams in Italy, who are set for a rematch of last year's title game.
Montepaschi Siena outlasted Emporio Armani Milano, 67-65. At the 14’ mark, the score was 30-12 for Siena: David Andersen (25 points on 12-18 shooting) was unstoppable for Ioannis Bourousis (on the bench for all the second half), Milano shot poorly from beyond the arc (8-30 at the end of the game) and didn’t attack the basket even if it grabbed an offensive rebound. Young Italians Alessandro Gentile and Nicolo Melli changed the rhythm, being aggressive both on the offensive and the defensive end. At halftime, Milano was down just two, 32-34. Since then, it was a neck-to-neck game. The last possessions were: a three point play by Mason Rocca and a circus triple shot by JR Bremer that made the score 62-60 in favor of Milano, two free throws by Lavrinovic tied the game, JR Bremer is then called for a controversial five seconds violation, Bo McCalebb hits an easy layup and two free throws by David Moss after the 3-point shot missed by JR Bremer closed the game.
Meanwhile, Bannet Cantù survived Scavolini Siviglia Pesaro, 71-64. Pesaro started to play only in the third quarter, down by eleven (44-55). Ricky Hickman and Jumaine Jones hit some though shots that made it a two-point game with three minutes to play (61-59 for Cantù). Clutch time means it's Gianluca Basile’s time; his first triple after four mistakes made Cantù breath for a while. Jumaine Jones was the last to give up, he scored from downtown to make it 66-64 but then Cantù was precise from the free-throw line and deserved the finals' berth.
Editor's Note: Giovanni Reale is a staff blogger for 'the Basketball Post', providing info on Italian basketball. More of his work can be found here and he can be followed on twitter @Pariolino.
The semifinals featured two close games 'til the end. But the winners were once again Mens Sana Siena and Pallacanestro Cantù, definitely the two best teams in Italy, who are set for a rematch of last year's title game.
Montepaschi Siena outlasted Emporio Armani Milano, 67-65. At the 14’ mark, the score was 30-12 for Siena: David Andersen (25 points on 12-18 shooting) was unstoppable for Ioannis Bourousis (on the bench for all the second half), Milano shot poorly from beyond the arc (8-30 at the end of the game) and didn’t attack the basket even if it grabbed an offensive rebound. Young Italians Alessandro Gentile and Nicolo Melli changed the rhythm, being aggressive both on the offensive and the defensive end. At halftime, Milano was down just two, 32-34. Since then, it was a neck-to-neck game. The last possessions were: a three point play by Mason Rocca and a circus triple shot by JR Bremer that made the score 62-60 in favor of Milano, two free throws by Lavrinovic tied the game, JR Bremer is then called for a controversial five seconds violation, Bo McCalebb hits an easy layup and two free throws by David Moss after the 3-point shot missed by JR Bremer closed the game.
Meanwhile, Bannet Cantù survived Scavolini Siviglia Pesaro, 71-64. Pesaro started to play only in the third quarter, down by eleven (44-55). Ricky Hickman and Jumaine Jones hit some though shots that made it a two-point game with three minutes to play (61-59 for Cantù). Clutch time means it's Gianluca Basile’s time; his first triple after four mistakes made Cantù breath for a while. Jumaine Jones was the last to give up, he scored from downtown to make it 66-64 but then Cantù was precise from the free-throw line and deserved the finals' berth.
Editor's Note: Giovanni Reale is a staff blogger for 'the Basketball Post', providing info on Italian basketball. More of his work can be found here and he can be followed on twitter @Pariolino.
Posted by Rafael Uehara at Monday, February 20, 2012 10:43:38 AM 
Categories: LegaBasket
Tags: Giovanni Reale
Categories: LegaBasket
Tags: Giovanni Reale
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