Italian League Semifinals, Game 1: May 30, 2007 The Italian League semifinal openers came with some surprising scores, as Lottomatica Roma and VidiVici Bologna registered respective road wins against Montepaschi Siena and Armani Jeans Milano, enough to steal the home court advantage. Lottomatica Roma got a 1-0 lead in its series by downing Montepaschi 74-88 in Siena in Game 1 on Tuesday. David Hawkins led the winners with 23 points. Dejan Bodiroga and Erazem Lorbek each added 20 while Mire Chatman had 16 for Roma. Joseph Forte had 16 points for Montepaschi, that lost its first home game in the Italian League this season. Meanwhile, VidiVici Bologna took a 1-0 lead in its semifinals return by edging Armani Jeans 71-75 in Milano on Tuesday. Travis Best led the winners with 13 points. Brett Blizzard added 11, including free throws to put the victory on ice, while Dusan Vukcevic had 10 for VidiVici. Kiwane Garris had 16 points for Milano. Lottomatica and VidiVici host Game 2 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Lottomatica Roma got a 1-0 lead in its semifinal series by downing Montepaschi 74-88 in Siena in Game 1 on Tuesday. David Hawkins led the winners with 23 points. Dejan Bodiroga and Erazem Lorbek each added 20 while Mire Chatman had 16 for Roma. Joseph Forte had 16 points for Montepaschi, that lost its first home game in the Italian League this season. Romain Sato and Rimantas Kaukenas each added 13 for the hosts. Hawkins and Lorbek led a 0-11 run that gave Roma a 11-24 lead late in the first quarter. Kaukenas hit one from downtown to get Montepaschi within 34-39, but Bodiroga allowed Roma to stay ahead, 41-48, at halftime. Roma went scoreless in the final 4 minutes of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Forte had 6 points in a 8-0 run that tied the game, 57-57. Montepaschi opened the fourth quarter with a 8-2 run to get a 65-59 edge, but Lottomatica was not done. Lorbek had 6 unanswered points while Chatman and Hawkins stroke from downtown to break the game open. Bodiroga and Hawkins allowed Roma to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer. VidiVici Bologna took a 1-0 lead in the Italian League semifinals by edging Armani Jeans 71-75 in Milano on Tuesday. Travis Best led the winners with 13 points. Brett Blizzard added 11 while Dusan Vukcevic had 10 for VidiVici. Kiwane Garris had 16 points for Milano, Joseph Blair posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds while Sven Schultze added 10 points for the hosts. Milano's last lead came at 22-20, as VidiVici used team effort and a very balanced offense to keep a slin lead all the way. Even with that, a free throw by Danilo Gallinari got Milano within 61-62 early in the final period. Fabio Di Bella stepped up for Virtus with back-to-back baskets, igniting a game-breaking 0-11 run that gave the guests a 61-73 margin. Milano answered with a 10-0 run that Nate Green capped with a layup to get the hosts within 71-73, but Blizzard sealed the outcome from the free throw line. ITALIAN LEAGUE: Semifinal Playoffs, best of 5 games Record Team Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 0 Montepaschi Siena (1) 74 June 2 June 5 June 7* June 9* 1 Lottomatica Roma (4) 88 - - - - 0 Armani Jeans Milano (2) 71 June 3 June 6 June 8* June 10* 1 VidiVici Bologna (3) 75 - - - - Semifinal Playoffs Games Game 1 Montepaschi Siena vs. Lottomatica Roma 74-88 May 30 Game 1 Armani Jeans Milano vs. VidiVici Bologna 71-75 May 30 Game 2 Lottomatica Roma vs. Montepaschi Siena - June 2 Game 2 VidiVici Bologna vs. Armani Jeans Milano - June 3 Game 3 Montepaschi Siena vs. Lottomatica Roma - June 5 Game 3 Armani Jeans Milano vs. VidiVici Bologna - June 6 Game 4 Lottomatica Roma vs. Montepaschi Siena - June 7* Game 4 VidiVici Bologna vs. Armani Jeans Milano - June 8* Game 5 Montepaschi Siena vs. Lottomatica Roma - June 9* Game 5 Armani Jeans Milano vs. VidiVici Bologna - June 10* Wednesday, May 30, 2007 Euroleague.net