Standings shake-up at Italian Serie A

Round 19 of the Italian Serie A 2016-17 regular season brought about some interesting games. Overall, the games resulted in some shifting places in the league standings, especially close to the top. This is just another testament to how competitive the teams are in this league. EA7 Armani (16-3) retains its command of the league, with a dominant win over Germani Basket Brescia, 93-79. Serie A’s top dog has pretty much locked up the top seed in the league, with a daunting three-game lead over their closest rival. Speaking of which, there’s a new team that sits in second place. With a 79-62 win over VL Pesaro, Scandone Avellino is has improved its record to 13-6.

Two Top-5 teams locked horns in this round and as expected it ended up being a very close game. Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia narrowly edged out Umana Venezia 73-74. Jalen Reynolds blew up for 21 points to lead Grissin Bon in this one. Umana Venezia is now 12-7 and they slide down to third place. In a weird twist of fate, Grissin Bon also got bumped down in the standings. They are 11-8, but fall to fifth place.

Banco di Sardegna Sassari (11-8) cracks the Top 4, thanks to a blowout win over Acqua Vitasnella Cantu, 80-65. Cantu remains in 13th place with their 7-12 slate.

Dolomiti Energia Trento are making strides as they surge up to sixth place. They defeated Betaland Capo d’Orlando, 63-71. Both teams share identical 10-9 records, but the tiebreaker has resulted in both teams swapping positions in the Italian Serie A standings. Another team joins them in the Top 8 with a 10-9 slate as well. The last game of the round saw The Flexx Pistoia dispatch with JuveCaserta 77-64, resulting in an improvement in their record to 10-9.

After the Round 19 fallout here is what the top half of the standings look like:

1. EA7 Armani (16-3)
2. Scandone Avellino (13-6)
3. Umana Venezia (12-7)
4. Banco di Sardegna Sassari (11-8)
5. Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia (11-8)
6. Dolomiti Energia Trento (10-9)
7. Betaland Capo d’Orlando (10-9)
8. The Flexx Pistoia (10-9)

Just outside the Top 8, four teams are looking to challenge for playoff spots. They have 9-10 records. They are Enel Brindisi, Germani Basket Brescia, Auxillium Torino, and Pasta Reggia JuveCaserta.