Reggio Emilia rallies, sinks first-place Bayern
Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia finished the regular season in style by rallying from a double-digit deficit to down previously undefeated FC Bayern Munich 90-82 on Wednesday night. Reggio Emilia learned midway through the first quarter that it had qualified for the Top 16 thanks to Buducnost VOLI Podgorica defeating Lietkabelis Panevezys, but with this win Reggio Emilia finished third in Group B, while handing first-place Bayern its first defeat of the season. The visitors led 40-53 early in the third, but James White got Reggio Emilia rallying before Amadeo Della Valle took over in the fourth quarter helping the hosts pull out a win. Della Valle had 9 points in the final six minutes and finished with a game-high 24. James White had 17 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, Julian Wright scored 14 points, and Niccolo De Vico netted 10 in victory. Braydon Hobbs scored 15 points for the visitors, while Reggie Redding and Devin Booker added 14 apiece in defeat.
Bayern scored on six of its first seven trips down the floor, and had four different scorers, including a game-opening triple from Danilo Barthel and one from Jared Cunningham that helped make it 10-14. Wright scored inside for the hosts, and Della Valle added 5 points, but Booker, Redding and Hobbs made sure Bayern led 19-25 after 10 minutes. Maik Zirbes and Barthel scored to open the first double-digit margin of the night, and Redding’s tough triple made it 21-32. Landing Sane hit a corner triple for Reggio Emilia, but Booker nailed one on the other end, too. De Vico’s corner triple helped cut the deficit to 30-36, but only briefly, as Hobbs had a pair of threes in the final three minutes of the half, raising the margin to 12 points, and Bayern led 38-48 at halftime.
The visitors extended the lead to 13 points at the start of the third quarter, but Della Valle got Reggio Emilia believing, before White scored from the inside and outside, as the host cut to 45-53. Bayern scored from the free throw line, but Federico Mussini hit a triple and Wright raced the floor for a fastbreak dunk that gave Reggio Emilia a 60-59 lead with 6 seconds to go in the third quarter. Zirbes scored at the buzzer of the third quarter and Djedovic hit a three-pointer early in the fourth, giving Bayern a 62-66 edge, however, Reggio Emilia stayed close before De Vico and Della Valle hit back-to-back threes to make it 74-71. Della Valle also had a three-point play, and after Redding’s triple, Manuchar Markoishvili hit his first triple that sparked a 7-0 run that put Reggio Emilia up 85-77 in the penultimate minute. Hobbs hit a triple for the visitors, but Markoishvili sealed the outcome with a three-point play exactly 60 seconds before the final buzzer.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Eurocupbasketball.com