Italian National Cup - Coppa Italia 2012-2013

[radallo]

Better late than never..

Here's a thread on BEKO FinalEight on going @MilanoForum 7-10 Feb 2013

Quarter Finals:

Cantù - Roma 85-89

Cantù still have to recover from ManuMarkoshvili departure. All teammates look unselfconfident...
Mancinelli played a bad game on both side, Tyus absence allowed all Roma's big to have impact on the game (career high for Czyz)...
Datome simply playing the best basketball of his career...
Roma went up +19, than Cantù (or better Tabu) close the gap in the 4th to one possession, but never tied the game.
A lot of energy for Roma, looking reactive on every ball.

http://195.56.77.210/game/cup2013-2.html

Milano-Varese
Old fashion derby among two city from the same region, Milano qualified at 8th spot going against Varese (1st), but looking better after player changes and after being kicked out from EL... unfortunately for coach Scariolo, looking is not being (even if you play for EA7 fashion group), and Milano looked effortless in the forst half, again too much depending on threes, and to few players (3 of the starters >30minutes).
Solid Varese, Mike Green MVP, big game from rising star Polonara.. more and more plaiyng a multidimensional basketball.

http://195.56.77.210/game/cup2013-1.html

Today
Sassari-Brindisi
Siena-ReggioEmilia

enjoy

[radallo]

Nice run&gun show between Sassari and Brindisi.

Sassari (45 attempts from 2pt, 48 attempts from 3s... 3 teammates shot at least 10threes.. is that a record??) is almost unbeatable at run&gun. Bootsy Thorthon... everlasting class player.
I can't realize how a pure guard as Gibson still plays for Brindisi: he was ready for a big club since september... unfortunately for his team he had a bad shooting night..

http://195.56.77.210/game/cup2013-3.html

[rikhardur]

Final is set: Varese vs Siena.

[radallo]

Varese showing great form, defense and long bench. D.Sakota MVP of semifinals against Roma.
Roma couldn't count as usual on Datome, too many loose balls and poor shooting.

Sassari again trying a run&gun, but Siena is really good at slowing down the tempo expecially in the first half.
Bootsy again showing all his class, pushing Sassari up 13 in the third... than Siena giving all on the field to recover, but more than anything a T-foul on Sassari's coach turned the game. Great DannyBoyHackett sealed it in the 4th, with energy plays.

Again, I can't believe Banchi is using Ress (against Reggio Emilia, he played on one leg, showing pain; against Sassari, in&out due to pain in his not fully recovered left calf)... of course EL is not a goal for MPS, but standings right now allow MPS to fight for a top8 spot.. only if Ress is healthy IMO.

[Toxicity]

Siena won 77-74 and lifts the trophy and Daniel Hackett voted MVP of the Italian Cup.

[boyd20]

In the end, Siena strikes again for the 5th time in a row.
Even in this much smaller version, they're still the best in Italy.

It's been fun, we were used to watch Siena crash the opponents, this time they were trailing both in the quarterfinal and especially in the semifinal game, when they were down by 13 pts in the 2nd half. Even in the final, despite being ahead throughout the game, they went very close to losing in a thrilling final.

Glad for Daniel Hackett, MVP of the competition, this guy is turning into something GOOD.