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Italian League Game 1: October 7-8, 2006 |
Pallacanestro Cantù shocked defending champion Benetton Treviso 70-69 in the opening game of the Italian League on Sunday, while two other Euroleague sides held on for 2-point victories. Benetton led by 8 with two minutes to go, but Michael Jordan capped a late comeback with a 3-pointer to lift Cantu to victory. Jordan finished with an impressive 25 points and 7 assists. Eldo Napoli scored a tough 77-79 road win at Siviglia WearTeramo, while Climamio Bologna edged Whirlpool Varese 80-78. Napoli led by 9 with two minutes to go and needed a late free throw by Valerio Spinelli to see off Teramo's charge. Richard Rocca had 15 points and 7 rebounds for Napoli. Tyus Edney scored a layup in the final seconds to lift Climamio over Varese in a game that was close throughout. Marco Belinelli scored 20 for Bologna. Climanio's city rival, VidiVici Bologna trounced Snaidero Udine 70-94 behind Christian Drejer's 18 points, while Montepaschi Siena crushed Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia 59-87 as Jospeh Forte led seven players in double figures with 16. In other games, Upea Capo d'Orlando topped Air Avellino 72-83 and Armani Jeans Milano defeated TDShop.it Livorno 70-58. The opening round of play will conclude on Wednesday when Lottomatica Roma travels to Premiata Montegranaro.
In Cantu, Jordan erupted for 25 points and 7 assists in the week's biggest upset. Benetton started well and led by 8 at the end of the first period and 33-42 at halftime. The hosts cut the gap to 50-51 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Benetton soon regained control and led 59-67 with two minutes remaining. However a pair of Donnie McGrath triples made it 65-69 and then a Jordan hoop was followed by two missed free throws from Marco Mordente. That set the stage for Jordan's game-winner. Benetton would still have the last possession, but Nikos Zisis was unable to convert at the buzzer. McGrath had 13 and Eric Williams 10 for Cantu. Zisis led Benetton with 16, Marcus Goree added 15 and 8 rebounds and Terrel Lyday finished with 12. Napoli's game at Siviglia WearTeramo was tied 37-37 at halftime, and then see-sawed throughout the second half. Anthony Grundy keyed an 8-0 Teramo run to give the hosts a 63-57 lead late in the third, but Spinelli started a 13-0 Napoli run that put the visitors in control, 63-70. Teramo had one last effort and got within 77-78 on a Duane Woodward triple, but Spinelli added a free throw and time ran out for Teramo. Richard Rocca had 15 points and 7 rebounds for Napoli, while Spinelli and Tierre Brown added 13 apiece and James Larranaga 12. Grundy finished with 21 and LeRoy Hurd 20 in defeat.
After three close quarters in Bologna, Climamio pulled away in the fourth, taking a 68-61 lead and later a 73-66 lead behind James Thomas scores. However Billy Keys never quit and had Varese back within 1 point with less than two minutes left. Belinelli answered with 2 from the line to make it 77-74, Keys drew a foul and closed the gap to 77-76. David Bluthenthal went to the line next and increased the hosts lead to 2 again, but Delonte Holland tied it from the charity stripe on the next possession. However there was still enough time for Edney, who navigated the court and found his way to the game-winning 2. Belinelli finished with 20, Bluthenthal 16, Thomas with 15 points and 12 boards and Edney added 10. Holland had 29 in defeat. Siena led 31-44 at halftime against Reggio Emilia and blew the game open with a 16-4 run in the third. Forte finished with 16, Shaun Stonerook 14, Terrell McIntyre 12, Romain Sato 11 and Benjamin Eze, Rimatas Kaukenas and Vladimer Boisa 10 each for Siena. C.J. Watson had 25 in defeat. At Udine, Travis Best led the way as VidiVici opened the second quarter with 10 straight points for a 22-32 lead and the visitors would never trail again. Drejer led all scorers with 18, Dusan Vukcevic added 15, Bennett Davison 13, Guilherme Giovannoni 12 and Kris Lang 11. Udine's Joel Zacchetti had 13, Jacob Jaacks and Andrew Wisniewski 12 each and Silvio Gigena 10.
| LAST GAME
GAME 1 - Oct. 8
| | Day | Match | Result | | Oct. 8 | Climamio BO vs. Whirlpool Varese | 80-78 | | Oct. 8 | Snaidero Udine vs. VidiVici BO | 70-94 | | Oct. 8 | Armani Jeans MI vs. TDShop.it Livorno | 70-58 | | Oct. 8 | Angelico Biella vs. Legea Scafati | 81-83 | | Oct. 8 | Bipop Carire vs. Montepaschi Siena | 59-87 | | Oct. 8 | Siviglia Wear TE vs. Basket Napoli | 77-79 | | Oct. 8 | Pall. Cantu vs. Benetton Treviso | 70-69 | | Oct. 8 | Air Avellino vs. Upea C. d'Orlando | 72-83 | | Oct. 11 | Premiata Monte. vs. Lottomatica Roma | 0-0 |
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| NEXT GAME
GAME 2 - Oct. 15
| | Day | Match | | Oct. 15 | Benetton Treviso vs. Angelico Biella | | Oct. 15 | Basket Napoli vs. Premiata Monte. | | Oct. 15 | Lottomatica Roma vs. Snaidero Udine | | Oct. 15 | Montepaschi Siena vs. Siviglia Wear TE | | Oct. 15 | VidiVici BO vs. Pall. Cantu | | Oct. 15 | Whirlpool Varese vs. Armani Jeans MI | | Oct. 15 | TDShop.it Livorno vs. Air Avellino | | Oct. 15 | Upea C. d'Orlando vs. Climamio BO | | Oct. 15 | Legea Scafati vs. Bipop Carire |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Montepaschi Siena | 1 | 1 | 0 | 87 | 59 | | 2 | VidiVici Bologna | 1 | 1 | 0 | 94 | 70 | | 3 | Armani Jeans Milano | 1 | 1 | 0 | 70 | 58 | | 4 | Upea Capo d'Orlando | 1 | 1 | 0 | 83 | 72 | | 5 | Climamio Bologna | 1 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 78 | | 6 | Eldo Napoli | 1 | 1 | 0 | 79 | 77 | | 7 | Legea Scafati | 1 | 1 | 0 | 83 | 81 | | 8 | Pallacanestro Cantù | 1 | 1 | 0 | 70 | 69 | | 9 | Benetton Treviso | 1 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 70 | | 10 | Whirlpool Varese | 1 | 0 | 1 | 78 | 80 | | 11 | Siviglia Wear Teramo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 77 | 79 | | 12 | Angelico Biella | 1 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 83 | | 13 | Air Avellino | 1 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 83 | | 14 | TDShop.it Livorno | 1 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 70 | | 15 | Snaidero Cucine Udine | 1 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 94 | | 16 | Bipop Carire R.Emilia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 87 | | 17 | Lottomatica Roma | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 18 | Premiata Montegr. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Sunday, October 08, 2006
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