Eurocup Semifinal: Trento downs Strasbourg
The Eurocup Semifinal are underway with the first game tipping off between Strasbourg and Dolomiti Energia Trento in France on Tuesday. With home advantage Strasbourg was favourite for the win, but Trento showed its class on the road to pick up an excellent 68-74 victory. The Italian club will now be protecting that six point advantage when the Eurocup Semifinal leg 2 gets underway in Italy next week.
Before then, the second semifinal will be played between Galatasaray Istanbul and Herbalife Gran Canaria in Turkey on Wednesday.
Strasbourg vs. Dolomiti Energia Trento, 68-74
The guests started on fire and peppered the bucket during the first quarter, turning in an offensive and defensive display that stunned Strasbourg and resulted in a 16-31 scoreboard through ten minutes. The hosts rallied impressively in the second frame with a 17-0 run and managed to tame the Trento attack. Strasbourg used a 21-9 run to address the balance, with the scoreboard reading 37-40 through the long break.
The French club has wrestled the momentum in the second period, but it swung again towards Trento in the third act. The Italians edged a nervy stanza 14-19 to extend its advantage to 51-59 through thirty minutes of the game. There was plenty of back and forth in the fourth quarter, but Trento kept close enough to Strasbourg to stop the hosts mounting a comeback. As the final buzzer sounded the Italians had run out with a comfortable closing to the game.
Julian Wright led the win with 16 points, while adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists for a solid all-round display. Trent Lockett added 14 points for Trento, followed by Davide Pascolo with 13 points, 7 boards, and 5 scoring passes.
Bangaly Fofana topped the losing effort with the games only double-double, picking up 15 points and 10 rebounds. Sonny Weems also netted 15 points and added 7 rebounds, while Louis Campbell plundered 11 points.
“We started the game well offensively and were very aggressive at the three-point line. The reaction of Strasbourg showed the value of the team. We didn’t attack very well against this kind of big defense. The experiences of the past games, like against Milan, helped us tonight when Strasbourg came back. We never gave up. The key was for us is to limit the passing game of Strasbourg. But we know it’s just the first game. The road is long before the final, nothing is over, no team is qualified. ”
– Maurizio Buscaglia, Trento Head Coach