EA7 Armani tops Umana Venezia in Top 4 clash

Italian Serie A – Two of the league’s Top 4 teams collided in what would be one of the most important games in Round 18 regular season action. League leader EA7 Emporio Armani Milano came away with a win on the road against third-placer Umana Reyer Venezia 84-74. This is Armani’s 16th win in 18 games and still retain their two-game advantage over Grissin Bon Reggio Emila (14-4). Umana Venezia’s loss is only their fifth for the season (13-5) and they remain one game ahead of Banco di Sardegna Sassari (12-6).

The defending champs ended Venezia’s two game winning streak in what was a close game in the beginning. The hosts managed to keep pace with EA7 Armani in the first frame and kept in a 20-20 deadlock. In the second quarter Armani showed signs it was ready to pull away. Umana Venezia’s shots from the outside were not hitting their mark. In fact, that was one of the factors that contributed to their loss in this game. They leaned on their three-point shot far too much, dipping into that well too often for comfort. They ended up going 5-of-24 from three-point range. On the other hand, Armani did not need to rely on perimeter offense as much. They made four less attempts and yet successfully knocked down three more treys. Still, Umana’s Phil Goss would play a huge role in keeping his team from being left behind. At the halftime break the score stood at 35-37 in what appeared to be a tightly contested affair.

In the third quarter, EA7 Armani’s starters kicked their offense up a notch and they gained ground on some solid play execution. Things turned around when Umana Venezia began to miss shots from the free-throw line. Starters Julyan Stone and Benjamin Ortner combined for 2-of-8 from the charity stripe, paving the way for their team to finish with a poor 11-of-21 shooting. Those missed free-throws could easily represent the 10-point scoring gap at the end of regulation and definitely played a role in their missed opportunity to upset the league’s top team. The fourth period saw more of the same aggressive play from EA7 Armani and with Venezia faltering at the line, the lead grew and ended with the 74-84 final score.

Five Armani players ended the game scoring in double figures. Samardo Samuels paced the white shirts with 18 points. He was a force in the post, going 8-of-11 from two-point range. Joe Ragland added 16 points and Daniel Hackett chipped in 15. Phil Goss was the main man for Umana Venezia. He finished with a game-high 21 points, while Benjamin Ortner chimed in with 15 points and nine boards.