24 hours left, then we will officially enter the new season. Montepaschi Siena and MapoOro (main sponsor for this competition only) Cantu will get on the court at the 105 Stadium, Rimini, tip-off at 7PM CET. The Italian Supercup has a new sponsor this year and the event name is "Beko Supercoppa 2012".
Seventeen years have passed since Virtus Bologna clinched the cup in 1995, the first edition ever. That game was won by Bologna for 90-72 against Treviso and Orlando Woolridge was named MVP of the competition. Woolridge, who had left Treviso for joining Bologna early that summer, died last May when he was 53. That was the first Supercup title earned by Virtus Bologna and it is also the last so far.
Benetton Treviso lost its right to challenge in the Italian serie A last summer and will restart from the so called Promozione league next year heading to get back to the pro basketball in a near future. Seventeen years and much more have passed since 1995. Siena and Cantu will be on the court tomorrow trying to get the title in the 18th edition of the cup just as it happened 12 months ago when Siena clinched its 5th consecutive Supercup title. Both of the teams faced a lot of changes during last summer and this makes it, for the first in the last 5 seasons, a very unpredictable game.
Montepaschi Siena At the end of a great era Siena have to prove that they can still count on its recent glorious tradition and on its winning mentality built up during the last decade. Simone Pianigiani left after six italian titles and flew to Turkey after signing with Fenerbahce. Bo McCalebb and David Andersen joined him. Shaun Stonerook, who's probably the best tactical player seen in the italian league in the last ten years, retired at the end of last season. Kaukenas and Lavrinovic got back to Lithuania and joined Zalgiris. All of these changes make Siena a very different team now, but Minucci and the staff did a great job on the market starting from the head coach. Luca Banchi , who's been the assistant of Pianigiani for years, is the link between the past and the future just as David Moss, Carraretto and Ress. Moreover they signed a bunch of top players from other italian teams just as Daniel Hackett, Matt Janning, Kristjan Kangur and Viktor Sanikidze. At the point they added Bobby Brown, who's doing very good in the pre-season and at shooitng guard position they inked Marcelus Kemp. Under the boards Mario Kasun and Ben Eze (another actor of the mentioned glorious past) will battle hard replacing Andersen and Lavrinovic. Forecast : Siena is no longer the team that reigned for six years, but has mantained a top level roster and a top level coach. Key factors will be the impact of Kasun and Eze under the boards and the performance of point guard Bobby Brown.
Mapooro Cantu A three seasons project ended this summer. The team reached the the italian cup final game twice, the playoffs final series once and the supercup game once but didn't got a single title as always defeated by Siena. Moreover Cantu got back to the Euroleague last year and almost reached the playoffs thanks to amazing performances against all of the european top teams. Lots of changes last summer as Micov signed with CSKA Moscow and Shermadini joined Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Coach Trinchieri is going to get in the battle again with a different roster and players with very different skills this season. If Cantu did great with a very tactical system, the market brought a new philosophy. Very athletical players just as Center Alex Tyus and point guard Jerry Smith joind the squad. Two main actors of the national italian team as Aradori and Cusin were added. Jeff Brooks who had a great season in the Legadue last year will face this new challenge at a higher level at spot '3'. A very important part of the core nucleus has remained in any case. Marty Leunen will keep on bringing points and rebounds just as being a point of reference on the court, while Mazzarino proved last season and in this pre-season that is still a deadly shooter altough he's 37 years old. Manuchar Markoishvili is back to Cantu after a great summer with the georgian national team. Tabu, Kudlacek and Scekic will be key players too in a very complete roster Forecast: Is this game going to be the first good chance to clinch a title for Cantu? It could be for sure, but Trinchieri and his players had a very short time to build a good team chemistry (as 5 key players spent the summer with their national team) and this could become a problem for them at their official debut in the season.
Lega2 Round 4 of Quarter-Finals. Casale and Pistoia advance into semifinals - May 19, 2013
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Tezenis VE - Novipiu Casale 67-76
Novipiu Casale snatched a road win over Tezenis Verona and secured the semifinal birth. The guests trailed by 3 points at the halftime before their 45-33 charge in the second half, which allowed them to win the game. Worth to mention a great performance of American swingman Rodney Green (195-88, college: La Salle) who helped to win the game recording 23 points and 7 rebounds. The other American import point guard Casper Ware (177-90, college: Long Beach St [read more]
Novipiu Casale snatched a road win over Tezenis Verona and secured the semifinal birth. The guests trailed by 3 points at the halftime before their 45-33 charge in the second half, which allowed them to win the game. Worth to mention a great performance of American swingman Rodney Green (195-88, college: La Salle) who helped to win the game recording 23 points and 7 rebounds. The other American import point guard Casper Ware (177-90, college: Long Beach St.) contributed with 20 points for the winners. Four Novipiu Casale players scored in double figures. Nigerian-American power forward Olaseni Lawal (208-86, college: Wayne St., MI, agency: IBS) replied with a double-double by scoring 12 points and 14 rebounds and the former international guard Giorgio Boscagin (196-83) added 16 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for Tezenis VE. Tezenis VE's coach Alessandro Ramagli rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Top scorers: Tezenis VE: G.Boscagin 16+7reb, M.Chessa 15+1reb+1ast, O.Lawal 12+14reb+1ast, R.McConnell 7+2reb+1ast, D.Lamma 5+3ast, M.Da Ros 4+2reb Novipiu Casale: R.Green 23+7reb+2ast, C.Ware 20+3reb+1ast, N.Martinoni 14+9reb, M.Malaventura 11+3reb, G.Ferrero 4+5reb+1ast, S.Pierich 2+1reb
Giorgio Tesi Pistoia upset Givova Scafati away from home and earned the place in the semis. Tuscany Pistoia made 22-of-24 charity shots (91.7 percent) during the game. Givova Scafati was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. Worth to mention a quality performance of Panamanian swingman Michael Hicks (194-76, college: Texas A&M-CC) who helped to win the game recording 16 points and 7 rebounds and American guard Antonio Graves (191-85, college: Pittsburgh, agency: Two Points) who added 15 points and 6 rebounds during the contest. Four Tuscany Pistoia players scored in double figures. Tuscany Pistoia's coach Paolo Moretti allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the losing side American forward Ronald Slay (203-81, college: Tennessee, agency: David Lee services) responded with 19 points and 6 rebounds and power forward Patrick Baldassarre (200-86, agency: Players Group) scored 12 points and 9 rebounds. Top scorers: Givova Scafati: R.Slay 19+6reb+3ast, P.Baldassarre 12+9reb+1ast, J.Tavernari 12+2reb, G.Sorrentino 9+6reb+2ast, K.Mays 9+1reb+5ast, D.Rosignoli 4+3reb Giorgo Tesi PT: M.Hicks 16+7reb+1ast, A.Graves 15+6reb+2ast, G.Meini 11+3reb+2ast, R.Cortese 10+5reb+1ast, L.Saccaggi 9+3reb+2ast, D.Fajardo 8+4reb
SerieA Round 5 of Quarter-Finals. Cimberio Varese reach semifinal stage - May 18, 2013
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EA7 Armani - Montepaschi 82-67
Emporio Armani knocked down visiting Montepaschi to regain the lead in the series. The game was mostly controlled by Armani Milano. Montepaschi Siena was better in fourth quarter 25-21. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Montepaschi Siena 44-29 including a 32-20 advantage in defensive rebounds. Montepaschi Siena was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch [read more]
Emporio Armani knocked down visiting Montepaschi to regain the lead in the series. The game was mostly controlled by Armani Milano. Montepaschi Siena was better in fourth quarter 25-21. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Montepaschi Siena 44-29 including a 32-20 advantage in defensive rebounds. Montepaschi Siena was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. Center Ioannis Bourousis (213-83, agency: FCM) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds for the winners and swingman Alessandro Gentile (198-92) chipped in 15 points and 5 rebounds. Four Armani Milano players scored in double figures. Georgian Viktor Sanikidze (203-86) responded with a double-double by scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds and the former international point guard Daniel Hackett (200-87, college: USC, agency: Two Points) scored 10 points. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Top scorers: EA7 Armani: I.Bourousis 18+12reb+2ast, M.Hairston 17+2reb+3ast, E.Bremer 15+3reb+2ast, A.Gentile 15+5reb+3ast, A.Fotsis 9+7reb, K.Langford 4+3reb+3ast Montepaschi: V.Sanikidze 12+10reb+1ast, D.Hackett 10+1reb+3ast, B.Brown 8+2reb+2ast, D.Moss 7+1reb, B.Eze 6+3reb, M.Janning 6+3reb+2ast
Cimberio Varese handed Venezia the fourth loss in the series and paved their way into SeriaA semifinals. Umana Venezia trailed by 16 points after 3 quarters before a 23-16 run in the last quarter cut the deficit to 75-84 at the end of the game. 24 personal fouls committed by Umana Venezia helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Serbian-Greek Dusan Sakota (209-86, agency: Beo Basket) orchestrated the victory by scoring 23 points (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field). Bulgarian power forward Dejan Ivanov (205-86, agency: Beo Basket) contributed with 10 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Cimberio Varese's coach Francesco Vitucci used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The former international guard Guido Rosselli (198-83) answered with 15 points and 9 rebounds and French forward Yakhouba Diawara (201-82, college: Pepperdine) added 21 points and 4 steals in the effort for Umana Venezia. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Top scorers: Cimberio VA: D.Sakota 23+4reb, A.Banks 14+1reb+1ast, D.Ivanov 10+9reb, B.Dunston 10+6reb+2ast, A.Polonara 9+6reb+3ast, E.Ere 7+7reb+2ast Umana VE: Y.Diawara 21+3reb+1ast, G.Rosselli 15+9reb+3ast, T.Bowers 13+4reb+2ast, K.Kee Clark 12+6reb+2ast, A.Young 7+6reb+2ast, M.Bulleri 3
Acea Virtus Roma snatched a tough home win over Trenkwalder to gain 3-2 lead in the series. It looked good early as Trenkwalder RE took an 2-point lead at the end of first quarter. But then Lottomatica Roma had a 20-14 second period charge getting the lead and Trenkwalder RE was not able to take back game control losing it eventually 69-74. Trenkwalder RE was plagued by 25 personal fouls down the stretch. International forward Luigi Datome (203-87) stepped up and scored 15 points and 9 rebounds for the winners and American forward Bobby Jones (201-84, college: Washington) chipped in 16 points and 9 rebounds. Four Lottomatica Roma players scored in double figures. International point guard Andrea Cinciarini (190-86) responded with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and American-Swiss Greg Brunner (201-83, college: Iowa) scored 12 points. Trenkwalder RE's coach Massimiliano Menetti rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Top scorers: Acea Virtus RM: B.Jones 16+9reb, L.Datome 15+9reb+3ast, P.Goss 15+2reb+4ast, G.Lawal 10+6reb, P.Lorant 5+3reb+1ast, L.D'Ercole 5+2reb+2ast Trenkwalder RE: A.Cinciarini 12+5reb+5ast, G.Brunner 12+4reb+3ast, D.Taylor 10+7reb+2ast, T.Bell 9+2reb, M.Antonutti 8+3reb+1ast, D.Filloy 8+4reb+1ast
Sassari stepped closer to the semifinal stage after they held off visiting Cantu. The game without a history. Banco di Sard. led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. They made 18-of-23 charity shots (78.3 percent) during the game. Banco di Sard. forced 19 Cantu turnovers. Cantu was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. American guard Drake Diener (196-81, college: De Paul, agency: Priority Sports) stepped up and scored 18 points and 5 rebounds for the winners and his fellow American import forward Drew Gordon (205-90, college: N.Mexico) chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds. Four Banco di Sard. players scored in double figures. Banco di Sard.'s coach Romeo Sacchetti felt very confident that he used 10 players and allowed the starting five to rest. American-Israeli center Alex Tyus (205-88, college: Florida) responded with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 12 rebounds and the former international Pietro Aradori (195-88) scored 12 points and 5 rebounds. Top scorers: Banco di Sard.: D.Diener 18+5reb+2ast, D.Gordon 13+9reb+2ast, M.Vanuzzo 13+4reb+1ast, S.Becirovic 11+1reb+3ast, T.Diener 8+3reb+5ast, T.Easley 7+4reb+1ast Cantu: A.Tyus 13+12reb, P.Aradori 12+5reb+1ast, J.Ragland 10+1reb+1ast, J.Tabu 7+2ast, M.Leunen 5+4reb, M.Scekic 4+1reb
Lega2 Round 3 of Quarter-Finals. Trento and Brescia advance into semifinals - May 18, 2013
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LeGamberi FO - C.de Latte BRE 79-87
Brescia stole a road win over Forli to seal the semifinal appearance. LeGamberi Foods Forli was ahead by 3 points after three quarters before a 26-15 charge of C.de Latte BRE, which allowed them to win the game. They made 28-of-33 charity shots (84.8 percent) during the game. It was a great evening for American swingman J.R. Giddens (196-85, college: N.Mexico) who led his team to a victory scoring 22 points and 9 rebounds [read more]
Brescia stole a road win over Forli to seal the semifinal appearance. LeGamberi Foods Forli was ahead by 3 points after three quarters before a 26-15 charge of C.de Latte BRE, which allowed them to win the game. They made 28-of-33 charity shots (84.8 percent) during the game. It was a great evening for American swingman J.R. Giddens (196-85, college: N.Mexico) who led his team to a victory scoring 22 points and 9 rebounds. His fellow American import guard Michael Jenkins (191-86, college: Winthrop) helped adding 22 points and 6 rebounds. The best for the losing side was American swingman Terrence Roderick (196-88, college: UAB, agency: Interperformances) with 28 points and naturalized Argentinian guard Bernardo Musso (193-86) scored 13 points. Top scorers: C.de Latte BRE: M.Jenkins 22+6reb+1ast, J.Giddens 22+9reb, D.Brkic 18+5reb+1ast, F.Loschi 8+1reb, J.Fernandez 8+4reb+6ast, S.Stojkov 4+2ast LeGamberi FO: T.Roderick 28+4reb+1ast, B.Musso 13+4reb+1ast, A.Tessitori 9+2reb, B.Spencer 9+1reb, M.Soloperto 7+8reb+1ast, S.Borsato 7+1reb+3ast
Tezenis Verona cut the deficit in the series following a home win over Novipiu Casale. It looked good early as Novipiu Casale took an 6-point lead at the end of first quarter. But then Tezenis VE had a 29-14 second period charge getting the lead and Novipiu Casale was not able to take back game control losing it eventually 73-85. They outrebounded Novipiu Casale 38-26 including a 31-20 advantage in defensive rebounds. Tezenis VE shot the lights out from three nailing 14 long-distance shots on high 51.9 percentage. The best player for the winners was American point guard Richard McConnell (182-89, college: St.Mary's, CA, agency: Priority Sports) who scored 31 points. Nigerian-American power forward Olaseni Lawal (208-86, college: Wayne St., MI, agency: IBS) chipped in a double-double by scoring 10 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Lawal is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Four Tezenis VE players scored in double figures. Tezenis VE's coach Alessandro Ramagli allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the other side the best for losing team was American point guard Casper Ware (177-90, college: Long Beach St.) who recorded 21 points and the other American import swingman Rodney Green (195-88, college: La Salle) added 21 points respectively. Top scorers: Tezenis VE: R.McConnell 31+2reb+1ast, M.Da Ros 15+5reb, C.Westbrook 13+7reb+2ast, O.Lawal 10+12reb+2ast, D.Lauwers 8+3reb, G.Boscagin 5+4reb Novipiu Casale: C.Ware 21+4reb+1ast, R.Green 21+2reb+2ast, N.Martinoni 11+5reb, S.Pierich 9+5reb+1ast, G.Ferrero 5+4reb, P.Butkevicius 4+2reb
Trento cruised past Sigma Barcellona to sweep the quarterfinal series. The game was mostly controlled by Pall.Trento. Sigma Barcellona managed to win second period 26-21. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. 25 personal fouls committed by Sigma Barcellona helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. It was a good game for American guard Barry Elder (197-82, college: Georgia Tech) who led his team to a victory with 23 points. Forward Davide Pascolo (201-90) contributed with 15 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Four Pall.Trento players scored in double figures. American guard Jobey Thomas (194-80, college: Charlotte) answered with 25 points and naturalized American forward Craig Callahan (203-81, college: NC-Wilmington, agency: Three Eye Sports) added 11 points and 8 rebounds in the effort for Sigma Barcellona. Top scorers: Pall.Trento: B.Elder 23+4reb+2ast, M.Umeh 22+1ast, D.Pascolo 15+7reb+2ast, L.Garri 14+7reb+1ast, M.Spanghero 5+3reb+3ast, L.Dordei 4+6reb+3ast Sigma Barcel.: J.Thomas 25+3reb+1ast, R.Bucci 16+1reb+2ast, C.Callahan 11+8reb+1ast, T.Green 7+3reb+1ast, D.Hardy 7+4reb+5ast, A.Cittadini 6+7reb
Givova Scafati shot down Pistoia to force the fourth game in the series. The hosts started the game with a very strong first quarter 25-13. But Tuscany Pistoia won second period 24-18. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Givova Scafati made 21-of-24 free shots (87.5 percent) during the game. It was an exceptional evening for American point guard Keddric Mays (183-84, agency: Hart Sports Mngm) who led the winners and scored 27 points and 6 rebounds. Power forward Patrick Baldassarre (200-86, agency: Players Group) accounted for 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists for the winning side. Four Givova Scafati players scored in double figures. Panamanian swingman Michael Hicks (194-76, college: Texas A&M-CC) came up with 30 points and 8 rebounds and American guard Antonio Graves (191-85, college: Pittsburgh, agency: Two Points) added 15 points respectively for Tuscany Pistoia in the defeat. Tuscany Pistoia's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Top scorers: Givova Scafati: K.Mays 27+6reb+3ast, R.Slay 18+6reb, P.Baldassarre 17+10reb+5ast, J.Tavernari 11+4reb+1ast, F.Bushati 6+2reb+2ast, D.Rosignoli 2+2reb Giorgo Tesi PT: M.Hicks 30+8reb+2ast, A.Graves 15+3reb+2ast, G.Galanda 8+4reb+1ast, D.Fajardo 8+4reb, R.Rullo 7, G.Meini 6+3reb+2ast
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