Dinamo Sassari fighting Vanoli Cremona to maintain a top spot in Italy
Round 16 of Legabasket will end today with the match between Dinamo Sassari and Vanoli Cremona. Sassari is on the second place with an 11-3 record, while Cremona is on 6th place with an 8-6 record. Both teams have their eyes fixed on play-offs, that’s why this game is gonna be very interesting.
Currently, Dinamo Sassari is in a very good form, winning the last 6 matches in all competitions. All these wins came after a very good display on the offensive end, which are their main strength for this season. In the last game, we saw them performing at the highest level on that end, scoring 101 points at Treviso and winning the game 101-79. This victory came thanks to a huge amount of personal fouls made by Treviso, 30! Sassari had 36 attempts from the free-throw line, with 31 going in. On the field goal, they had only 49 attempts, while their opponents had 65. The main contributors for Sassari where: Dyshawn Pierre (20 points and 4 rebounds), Michele Vitali (19 points and 2 steals) and Miro Bilan (15 points and 7 rebounds).
Cremona is in good form right now, winning 6 wins and 2 defeats. In their last game, they were beaten by Brescia, 91-76. They were outscored in every aspect of the game, especially in the rebounds battle, where they had only 26 compared to Brescia’s 36. After the first quarter, they had a 9 points lead and at halftime, a 12 points lead. But in the second half, the things were different, with Brescia taking the lead in the fourth quarter, when Cremona scored only 2 field goals out of 20 attempts, finishing the last part of the game with only 10 points scored. The main scorers were: Ethan Happ (22 points and 6 rebounds), Nicola Akele (16 points and 5 rebounds) and Malachi Richardson (13 points).
In order to have a chance to win, Cremona must improve their shooting and pass more the ball and finding the open man, not to force the shots as they have made in the last quarter against Brescia. They need to be very tough on the defensive end, too. For Sassari, to play in front of their fans will be an important advantage and that will play a big role in the outcome of the game.
Photo: Basketball Champions League
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
