Trento stops Oldenburg's rally, gets first Eurocup win
Dolomiti Energia Trento recorded its first-ever Eurocup win by holding off EWE Baskets Oldenburg 80-69 at home in Group A on Wednesday. Trento improved to 1-1, joining a four-way tie for second place, while Oldenburg is sixth at 0-2. Davide Pascolo led the winners with 15 points. Julian Wright added 13, Filipo Baldo Rossi had 10 and 10 rebounds while Peppe Poeta dished 10 assists for Trento. Rickey Paulding led Oldenburg with 17 points. Brian Qvale added 14 while Chris Kramer had 11, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the guests. Trento led 26-19 after 10 minutes and had an outstanding second quarter, in which Pascolo and Baldi Rossi allowed the hosts to get a 20-point margin, 52-32, at halftime. Qvale and an outstanding Paulding fueled Oldenburg's comeback, bringing the guests within 66-64 with 6 minutes left. Oldenburg ran out of energy, however, and a 7-0 run which Wright capped with a key basket sealed the outcome down the stretch.
Back-to-back triples by Jamarr Sanders and Pascolo gave Trento a 6-0 lead. Qvale stepped up with consecutive baskets but Sanders and Poeta kept the hosts in charge, 10-4. Qvale and Sanders traded baskets and Nemanja Aleksandrov kept Oldenburg within 14-8. Vaughn Duggins found his first points and Paulding struck from downtown but a red hot Pascolo kept Trento in charge, 18-13. Dominique Sutton and Robin Smeulders traded three-point plays and free throws by Diego Flaccadori made it an eight-point game, 24-16. Klemen Prepelic and Paulding brought Oldenburg a bit closer, 26-19, after 10 minutes. Sanders scored again early in the second quarter and Pascolo forced Oldenburg to call timeout at 30-19. Baldo Rossi hit a jumper which Qvale matched with foul shots. Andres Forray and Baldo Rossi led a 6-0 run which broke the game open, 38-21. Pascolo kept pacing Trento and got help from Baldo Rossi, Johan Lofberg and Wright to make it a 20-point game, 52-32, at halftime.
Oldenburg needed a quick comeback to return to the game and even when Aleksandrov and Paulding tried to ignite it, Wright and Pascolo kept Trento way ahead, 56-37. Paulding hit his second three-pointer in as many minutes and followed Prepelic's bomb from downtown with free throws to make Trento fans start to wonder at 56-45. Aleksandrov and Qvale brought the guests within single digits, 58-49. Sutton made free throws, an unstoppable Qvale scored again. Chris Kramer and Philipp Schwethelm, who had been scoreless until now, brought Oldenburg even closer, 64-56, after 30 minutes. Kramer and Wright traded baskets early in the fourth quarter and Paulding got Oldenburg within 66-60. Qvale made free throws and an unstoppable Paulding made it a two-point game, 66-64. Baldi Rossi took over with a three-point play and free throws by Wright gave Trento much-needed fresh air at 71-64. Wright scored again and Poeta scored off a steal to seal the outcome, 75-66, in the next-to-last minute. Oldenburg kept trying but Trento had cruised to a well-deserved, historical win.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Eurocupbasketball.com