Italian Serie A: Grissin Bon RE now on top
There has been a change in league leadership in the Italian Serie A over the weekend. Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia is now the top team. They defeated Acqua Vitasnella Cantu 70-74, to improve to a 13-5 record. Former league leader, EA7 Emporio Armani Milano suffered a tight loss at home against Scandone Avellino, 80-81. Another upset that struck top teams over the weekend belonged to third ranked Vanoli Cremona was downed Pasta Reggia JuveCaserta, 73-64. As teams look to make a push for the Playoffs, the level of competition has clearly intensified.
Amedeo Della Valle carried Grissin Bon RE with his team-high 17 points. Turnovers were a key factor in the outcome of the game. The red shirts were able to limit themselves to just eight turnovers for the entire game, while AV Cantu on the other hand committed 13. Grissin Bon made the most of their trips to the free-throw line, converting on 14-of-16 shots from the charity stripe. Brady Heslip led AV Cantu with a game-high 18 points.
It ended up as a rough end to January for EA7 Armani. It was an exciting duel between Armani’s Simon Krunoslav and Avellino’s James Nunnally, who both cancelled each other out to lead both their clubs with 20 points each. The game was close all throughout, with Avellino gaining the advantage in the second frame and Armani rallying in the third quarter. In the end, Avellino was able to squeak by with the upset victory in the dying seconds of the contest.
It was a tough loss to swallow for the upset Vanoli Cremona, but they could do nothing to slow down the torrential outside shooting of JuveCaserta, which made 50% of their shots from long range (10-20). JuveCaserta played the better team-oriented basketball for the game. Four of their players chimed in with double-figure performances and combined they outshined Vanoli Cremona’s Deron Washington who finished with a game-high 21 points.
Here are the other results of the games on January 31st:
Enel Brindisi vs. Banco di Sardegna Sassari, 88-82
Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia vs. Dolometi Energia Trento, 64-69
VL Pesaro vs. OpenJobMetis Varese, 76-71
Umana Reyer Venezia vs. Auxilium Torino, 73-57