Italian League, Game 34: April 27, 2008
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The Italian League regular season came to an end and Montepaschi beat a new record by finishing it with a 31-3 record. Montepaschi confirmed its excellent moment just days before the Euroleague Final Four by simply overwhelming Pierrel Capo d'Orlando 101-44 at home. All-Euroleague nominee Ksistof Lavrinovic paced the winners with 19 points and 9 rebounds, as Montepaschi led 82-17 late in the third quarter. Lottomatica Roma finished second with a 23-11 record by edging La Fortezza Bologna 62-66 on the road behind 32 points on 4-for-4 three-pointers and 11 rebounds from Erazem Lorbek. Upim Bolgona made it to the playoffs by beating Armani Jeans 92-96 in Milano. Joseph Forte paced the winners with 31 points. Meanwhile, Benetton Treviso could not advance to the playoffs or finished the regular season in the upper part of the standings despite a 88-72 win against Siviglia Wear Teramo behind 25 points from Lionel Chalmers. In other games, Eldo Napoli edged Angelico Biella 76-75, Tisettanta Cantu topped Solsonica Rieti 83-86, Legea Scafati beat Cimberio Varese 76-82, Premiata Montegranaro downed Snaidero Udine 90-82 while Air Avellino edged Scavolini Spar Pesaro 81-87. The best-of-five quarterfinal playoff series will be: Montepaschi - Upim, Montegranaro - Milano, Roma - Cantu and Avellino - Capo D'Orlando.
Montepaschi Siena left no doubt about its power and showed it is more than ready for the Euroleague Final Four by simply overwhelming Pierrel Capo d'Orlando 101-44 at home. Lavrinovic paced the winners with 19 points and 9 rebounds. Ben Eze added 17 points, Romain Sato had 14, Drake Diener 12 and Vlado Ilievski 11 for Montepaschi, that trailed 0-4 early in the game. Things radically changed from that moment, as McIntyre, Sato, Thornton, Lavrinovic and outstanding defense fueled an unbelievable 48-1 run that made it a 50-point game, 57-7, right before halftime. Montepaschi kept a 61-14 margin at the break, soon boosted its margin to 82-17 behind an unstoppable Lavrinovic and cruised to an incredible home win. Upim Bolgona made it to the Italian League playoffs by beating Armani Jeans 92-96 in Milano. Upim needed to win and wait for Avellino to down Scavolini in Pesaro. Forte paced the winners with 31 points. Stefano Mancinelli added 21, Horace Jenkins had 19 while Kristaps Janicenoks got 11 for Fortitudo. Dusan Vukcevic had 25 points for Milano, Danilo Gallinari added 19 while Melvin Booker had 14. Upim led all the way since 17-17, getting a 40-48 halftime lead and extending it to 62-72 after 30 minutes. Forte and Jenkins hit critical triples to keep Upim away from trouble until the final buzzer.
Benetton Treviso could not advance to the playoffs or finished the regular season in the upper part of the standings despite a 88-72 win against Siviglia Wear Teramo. Chalmers paced the winners with 25 points on 7-for-8 two-pointers and 8 rebounds. Nana Mensah-Bonsu posted a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, Mario Austin had 12 points while Matteo Soragna and Reece Gaines each got 10 for Benetton, that led all the way since the opening basket. Chalmers, Austin and Jaris Mujezinovic shined in the third quarter to make Benetton get a 72-58 margin after 30 minutes and Teramo never recovered. Lottomatica Roma finished second with a 23-11 record by edging La Fortezza Bologna 62-66 on the road. Lorbek paced the winners with 32 points on 4-for-4 three-pointers and 11 rebounds. David Hawkins added 13 points for Roma. Travis Best had 18 points for Virtus, Guilherme Giovannoni added 13 while Roberto Chiacig 10 for the hosts, who trailed for the best part of the game. Even with that, a triple by Best gave the hosts a 60-59 edge with under 2 minutes to go. Lorbek answered from downtown, Best tied the game with free throws but more foul shots by Lorbek and Hawkins sealed the outcome in the final seconds.
LAST GAME GAME 34
April 27, 2008 | | Day | Match | Result | | Apr. 27 | La Fortezza vs. Lottomatica | 62-66 | | Apr. 27 | Eldo Napoli vs. Biella | 76-75 | | Apr. 27 | Rieti vs. Cantu | 83-86 | | Apr. 27 | Varese vs. L. Scafati | 76-82 | | Apr. 27 | Premiata vs. Snaidero | 90-82 | | Apr. 27 | AJ Milano vs. Upim Bologna | 92-96 | | Apr. 27 | Montepaschi vs.C. d'Orlando | 103-46 | | Apr. 27 | Benetton vs. Teramo | 88-72 | | Apr. 27 | Scavolini Spar vs. Avellino | 81-87 |
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NEXT GAME
Quarterfinals Playoff | | | Match | | | Montepaschi(1)-Upim BO(8) | | | Lottomatica(2)-Cantu (7) | | | Avellino (3)-C. d'Orlando(6) | | | Montegranaro(4)-AJ Milano (5) | | | - | | | - | | | - | | | - | | | - |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Montepaschi Siena | 34 | 31 | 3 | 2998 | 2366 | | 2 | Lottomatica Roma | 34 | 23 | 11 | 2670 | 2471 | | 3 | Air Avellino | 34 | 23 | 11 | 2878 | 2637 | | 4 | Premiata Montegranaro | 34 | 22 | 12 | 2853 | 2706 | | 5 | Armani Jeans Milano | 34 | 19 | 15 | 2708 | 2666 | | 6 | Pierrel Capo d'Orlando | 34 | 19 | 15 | 2941 | 2985 | | 7 | Tisettanta Cantù | 34 | 17 | 17 | 2708 | 2776 | | 8 | Upim Bologna | 34 | 17 | 17 | 2669 | 2696 | | 9 | Scavolini Spar Pesaro | 34 | 17 | 17 | 2762 | 2819 | | 10 | Benetton Treviso | 34 | 16 | 18 | 2607 | 2592 | | 11 | Siviglia Wear Teramo | 34 | 15 | 19 | 2845 | 2966 | | 12 | Angelico Biella | 34 | 15 | 19 | 2725 | 2860 | | 13 | Solsonica Rieti | 34 | 14 | 20 | 2689 | 2773 | | 14 | Eldo Napoli | 34 | 14 | 20 | 2672 | 2779 | | 15 | La Fortezza Bologna | 34 | 13 | 21 | 2684 | 2731 | | 16 | Snaidero Cucine Udine | 34 | 13 | 21 | 2591 | 2760 | | 17 | Legea Scafati | 34 | 10 | 24 | 2587 | 2771 | | 18 | Cimberio Varese | 34 | 8 | 26 | 2656 | 2889 |
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