Strong first half lifted Brescia over Cedevita
Germani Brescia prevailed over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 84-82 at home on the back of a blistering first-half performance in which the Italian side carved out a 52-36 lead. The home team fired on all cylinders in the opening 20 minutes, netting 6 of 8 three-pointers and dishing out 15 assists, while the visitors shot 4 of 16 from beyond the arc and had only 6 assists, having committed as many turnovers.
The tide turned after the break as Brescia began to struggle at both ends of the court, committing a series of turnovers while its long-range shooting dried up. Cedevita was able to reduce the deficit to just 2 points late in the game but the hosts held on to victory with their fingernails, giving themselves a fighting chance to finish in the top four of Group A at the end of the regular season.
Brescia finished on 9 of 18 from three-point range while Cedevita netted 9 of 30, its poor showing from downtown being one of the key factors contributing to the defeat. The teams were pretty evenly matched in all other departments, as Brescia ended the contest with 23 assists and 10 turnovers, while Cedevita had 20 and 9.
The home team’s head coach Alessandro Magro summed up his team’s inconsistency in the post-game press conference. “We were able to share the ball and play very effective defense in the first half, but then we had to understand very quickly that the game lasts for 40 minutes,” he said. “We allowed them to come back and they deserved it, so congratulations to them for staying in the game, but at the end of the day every EuroCup win counts."