Montepaschi one game away from Italian title

Montepaschi Siena is now on a three game winning streak, climbing out of a 0-2 start in their Italian Serie A Finals series against EA7 Emporio Armani. Talk about a comeback story for the ages. Then again, the final chapter of this season’s epic story has yet to be written. You would think that Armani would have the upper hand coming into Game 5 of the series, considering they had their fans cheering them on at home in Milan. It was not an easy task by any means, but Montepaschi persevered and prevailed in the game’s second half to pull out the win, 68-72.

The visiting club came to Milan ready to play, looking for an upset. Riding on the momentum they’ve built up coming into the game, they seized the initiative in the first quarter and took an early 15-20 lead.  Othello Hunter led the attack in the paint and was a force to be reckoned with. Armani was not to be outdone. Keith Langford and Curtis Jerrells sparked their comeback in the second period. Daniel Hackett, despite some foul trouble was also a key factor for their cause. Going into the halftime break, Siena’s lead was whittled down to just one point, 33-34.

Josh Carter and again Othello Hunter made sure that home team would not be able to come out ahead as they headed into the final period of the game. Armani’s shots from the outside were not finding their mark and with every missed attempt from downtown, Montepaschi managed to land their long bombs. Even though the hosts went for higher percentage shots down low, their 4-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc was too many missed opportunities for them to recover and mount a convincing rally. Shooting their way out of their slump did not pay off in this encounter. Montepaschi on the other hand, was able to make 12-of-15 triples and that was the biggest discrepancy and swing factor in the game. Armani still managed to keep the game close in the final quarter, but in the end it was the visitors who stole the home court advantage in this series.

Othello Hunter was the main man for the club from Siena. He scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Josh Carter produced 14 points, along with three triples and six rebounds as his contribution. Marquez Haynes and Spencer Nelson added 10 points apiece.

Keith Langford was Armani’s top performer with 14 points and four rebounds. Curtis Jerrells managed to put up 13 points off the bench. Daniel Hackett and Alessandro Gentile added 11 points each.