Manital Torino lifts Italian A2 Gold title

The A2 Gold finals reached its decisive fifth game on Wednesday as Manital Torino defeated Agrigento to claim the Italian second division title. The crushing 93-70 win meant that Torino secured promotion to the top flight Serie A for the 2015/2016 season. It had been a tight series through the opening four games, but Manital managed to ease through the decider as Agrigento’s challenge faded.

The winners were deadly from downtown, draining 10 from 17 to finish the contest with 53.3% from beyond the arc. Manital Torino also dished out 17 assists, while Agrigento could only muster 8 scoring passes during the game.
With home court advantage, Torino started well and rarely looked back, easing to a comfortable 28-21 lead through the first quarter. Agrigento was struggling to stay in the game as the hosts extended their advantage with a 21-16 run through the second, making it 49-37 during halftime. In the third stanza Manital continued to impress while the travelling team waned under the post, a 19-14 score made it 68-51 through thirty minutes. The game was beyond Agrigento heading into the fourth act, and so it proved as Manital Torino stretched again with a 25-19 winning frame.

Jacopo Giachetti was consistent at the bucket for the winners with 20 points, while Tommaso Fantoni picked up 16 points and 7 rebounds. Stefano Mancinelli scored 17 points and Ronald Lewis was an all-round danger, finishing with 13 points, 8 boards, and 7 assists.

Andrea Saccaggi topped the losing effort with 17 points, while Dave Dudzinski added 15 points and Albano Chiarastella grabbed 13 points and 7 rebounds.