Waiting to see what Bologna will do tonight, however awaited by an almost prohibitive feat on the Siena field in the postponement, after the defeats in Caserta and Rome, respectively at home to Milan and away in Avellino, there are no more teams with full points in ranking. Now with four points we find 9 teams, then two points Venice, Reggio Emilia, Montegranaro, Pesaro and Siena (which however has one game less), while Cremona and Pistoia are still without victories. The two most important shots of this third day are the first away success of the season (including the Euroleague) of Luca Banchi's EA7 in Caserta, one of the surprises of the first two rounds, and Avellino's victory over Roma, one of the probable rivals in a few months in the playoff race. Milan, perhaps, has got into the right gear, bringing the streak of consecutive victories between the league and Europe to three and seems to agree with those who consider it the number one favourite. The commitment was tough, given the enthusiasm that reigned in Caserta after the results of the first two days, but Olimpia, not without difficulty, brought home the victory 77-81, led by Langford, author of an amazing 17-point third quarter (in the end the points will be like the number on his shirt, 23).
For EA7, the possibility next week at home against Pistoia to follow up on the positive momentum, while for the Campania team, who also played on a par yesterday for long stretches, all the positive comments from the previous weeks remain. In the first significant test for both, Avellino beats Rome 84-82, taking the first home success and stopping the march of the capitolini. Fought match up to the last second, with the Giallorossi showing their usual competitive spirit and their dangerous long-range shooting, but who suffered too much under the basket (for the duo from Irpinia Thomas-Ivanov 45 points overall and 11 rebounds head). Another important success is that of Varese, which in the last outing on the neutral field of Casale (last round of disqualification also for Sakota) beats Venice 84-72, managing a match in which the former Clark (last three years spent in the lagoon) it doesn't affect, but it finds for the first time a Hassell able to not regret last season's Dunston. For the Lombards, who according to many are back less competitive after the summer market, certainly a good start to the tournament, despite the difficult calendar, with this last victory joining another clear home success against Venice in the debut and in the derby with Milan last week, lost but with honor. The same cannot be said for Venice, which in this disappointing start to the championship only shone in the home binge against Montegranaro seven days ago. Easy and largely predictable successes for Cantù and Sassari, who respectively overtook Pesaro (93-78) and Pistoia (100-87) between the friendly walls, confirming that they are two of the strengths of this championship, but that they still have to grow a lot to really aim high. The Lombards coached by coach Sacripanti (former of the day) extend the streak of home victories between the championship and the Eurocup, thanks to the excellent performances of Ragland, Gentile and Aradori, but so far at home they have faced two affordable teams such as Pesaro and Pistoia, while the The only defeat came against Sassari. For the Marches, on the other hand, second consecutive knockout after the exploit on their debut on the Avellino field. In Sassari the smile returns after the home stop against Bilbao in the Eurocup, slipping a centello to a generous Pistoia in a match that was never in discussion, but in which the Tuscans fought proudly until the end.
First points for Montegranaro who manages to beat a more listed opponent at home, but within his reach, like Reggio Emilia with a score of 79-71, redeeming the defeat at home with Rome and the debacle in the last round in Venice, while for the Grissin Bon to register more than a step back from the good victory against Siena and second external knockout after the bad performance in Varese. For Montegranaro, Mayo's performance was decisive with his 25 points, while the family derby between the two Cinciarini brothers was won by the home player, Daniele (20 points), over Andrea (14 points), among other things ex of the match. To complete the picture of the Sunday matches, the convincing victory of Brindisi at home against a compliant Cremona for 96-74, which confirms the great start to the championship of the Apulian team, after the prestigious success against Milan and the game full of character Rome. At the first appointment on easy paper, in a building full of enthusiasm, Enel comes close to closing with 30 lengths of difference and shows off a 31-point super Dyson, while as far as Cremona is concerned, the situation is starting to get delicate, penalized even from a calendar that hasn't given her a hand so far (and will receive Sassari in the next round). As mentioned, no team with full points, unless tonight, in the postponement of 20.30, Bologna does the feat on the field of the Italian champions, however called to give a strong response after the last day's knockout in Reggio Emilia and the bad race during the week in Munich (where the second defeat in a row in the Euroleague came). The forecasts are all on Mens Sana's side, in search of those certainties that it seems to have lost in the last two races, but the young Virtus wants to continue to amaze. Bologna will not win the title at the end of the season, but certainly the sponsor, Granarolo, already linked to the black Vs in the period 1983-1986, brings to mind the fans the scudetto of the star, the tenth, won in 1984 when the captain on the field was Renato Villalta, today's president. So far the sentimentality, which Siena wants to banish as early as tonight.
