European Prospects

In Day 4 of Italy’s under 19 national finals Assigeco Casalpusterlengo, Pms Moncalieri, Comark Bergamo and Virtus Siena found their way to the quarterfinals after their wins in the barrage between second and third seeded teams of each group.

Assigeco Casalpusterlengo – Banca Sella Biella 65-50

Casalpusterlengo played a perfect second half and sent Biella home and is going to face Stella Azzurra Roma in the quarterfinals.

Casalpusterlengo’s 1995 Georgian forward Giga Janelidze played his best game so far showing that when he starts the game with the right attitude he is big problem for every defense. He scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and showed his ability to score from long range (2/3) and beat his defender from the dribble finishing with a dunk. 1996 forward Daniel Donzelli had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while 1995 point guard Luca Vencato kept struggling with his shot (2/10) but drew 6 fouls which sent him to the free throw line where he nailed 6 out of his 8 attempts , he also added 11 rebounds and 3 assists. 1996 guard Riccardo Rossato scored 11 points but had just 3/12 from the field including a 0/5 from 3 points range.

Biella’s 1995 Czech forward Prokop Slanina scored 16 points with 6/16 from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds and showed once again that he has a nice game inside the 6m75 line, but he has to be more decisive in his actions. 1994 forward Niccolò De Vico had 16 points and 7 rebounds.

PMS Moncalieri – Armani Junior Milano 78-75

Moncalieri won against Milan after an overtime and in the quarterfinals is going to play against Reyer Venezia.

For Moncalieri 1995 guard Lorenzo Baldasso scored 23 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, showing that he is one of the most interesting 1995 guards in Italy.

1994 point guard Andrea Amato scored 25 points and added 6 rebounds showing his good leadership attitude. 1994 guard Lorenzo Bartoli had 13 points.

Comark Bergamo – Victoria Libertas Pesaro 57-53

Comark Bergamo will be the opponent of Virtus Bologna in the quarterfinal after the win on Pesaro in a thrilling final.

1995 forward Alessandro Spatti had a bad day in terms of offensive game, but contributed to his team’s victory with 13 rebounds. 1996 guard Diego Flaccadori made his debut into the finals with 7 points. The match winner for Bergamo was 1994 center/forward Riccardo Crippa with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Virtus Siena – Don Bosco Livorno 89-53

Virtus Siena will face their cousins of Montepaschi in the most suggestive quarterfinal.

Siena put on the floor a huge intensity and had no problem to destroy Livorno behind the big games of 1994 forward Corrado Bianconi (16 points in 18 minutes), 1995 forward Andrea Martino (15 points, 9 rebounds) and 1994 guard/forward Riccardo Rovere (16 points in 23 minutes).

Livorno showed once again the talent of 1995 guard/forward Saverio Mazzantini, who had 16 points and 6 rebounds.