A crowd of 3000 spectators for a spectacular and exciting game won by Net Business Verona 94-90 vs. FC Barcelona. Barcelona started with a tough man-to-man defence on Verona's shooters and moving the ball well in offense. Three 3-pointers in a row put the Spanish team on the lead (8-16) after 5 minutes, with 8 points by Jasikevicius. Barcelona kept on running and with Navarro's high loop, they got the advantage 10-20 with 4:30 on the clock. Eight quick points by Schmidt put Verona back in the game (20-22). The first quarter ended 24-31 with a dunk by Rentzias, on the last shot missed by Digbeu. The third foul was called on Camata after just one minute in the second quarter, and Verona had problems to contain Due?as and Rentzias under the boards. A magic basket by Bullock put Verona even nearer (35-41) with 3:01 to go. Another dunk on the buzzer by Rony Seikaly put 44-52 on the scoreboard. Jasikevicius, with 10 points and Schmidt, with 8, were the top scorers. Verona worked its way hard, and with a steal off the dribble by Bullock who flied to dunk, the Italian team was back (57-58) after four minutes played in the third period. A three-pointer by Bullock put Verona on the lead, 60-58. But Barcelona was still in the game, and with a 0-10 run by Jasikevicius and Navarro, they got the lead again, 60-68. At the end of the third quarter, 67-75 on the scoreboard and Barcelona leading it, with Sarunas Jasikevicius dominating the game with 16 points scored in this period. Verona started the fourth period with two three-pointers to get as near as 72-75. The crowd was yelling to push their team, and a soft lay-up from Marty Conlon put Verona on the lead of the game (78-77). Great emotions with continuous changes in the leadership of the scoreboard. With two minutes to go, Henry Williams scored a three- pointer and a lay-up in Due?as' face for the 87-83. Williams and Jasikevicius fought with three-pointers and lay-ups to give their team the victory, and with just 38 seconds to go there was 92-90 on the scoreboard. Two free throws by Williams gave Verona their second victory. Henry Williams became the MVP of the game with 29 points, 19 of them scored in the last quarter.
Wednesday, November 01, 2000
P. ROMANO, www.telebasket.com, Milano
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