Prometey keeps its composure to beat Brescia, 79-72
Prometey Slobozhanske leaned on a big second half to down Germani Brescia 79-72 at Arena Riga on Wednesday evening. By winning its fourth game in a row, Prometey moved up to joint-second in the Group A standings with a record of 7-4, while Brescia dropped to 5-6.
DJ Kennedy and Issuf Sanon led the way for Prometey with 17 points apiece, while Caleb Agada added 11. Veteran center Ondrej Balvin finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, too. Amedeo Della Valle scored a game-high 20 points for Brescia, who also had CJ Massinburg and David Cournooh contribute 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Prometey took an early lead in the game and managed to hold an advantage until the latter stages of the first quarter, as David Moss nailed a triple with 2:29 remaining to put Brescia ahead, 10-12. The visitors then did enough to maintain an advantage until the end of the quarter, ending the first 10 minutes with a 15-19 lead.
Brescia found a way to control the game in the second quarter, with Della Valle coming to the fore in particular. With 2:13 left on the clock, Della Valle's seventh point of the quarter – and his 10th overall – gave Brescia its biggest lead of the game, 27-35. But, Balvin managed to cut the deficit by scoring 4 straight points for Prometey, which saw the halftime score read 31-35.
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After the break, Brescia scored early through Nicola Akele, making it a 31-37 game, but then a 9-0 Prometey run allowed the hosts to take the lead, 40-37. Gian Clavell, Sanon and Kennedy were regularly finding ways to put points on the board, but the response of Della Valle, Cournooh and Massinburg ensured that Prometey only had a slender advantage, 54-53, at the end of the third quarter.
Kennedy and Sanon kept their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, with the former scoring 10 points and the latter adding 7. In particular, back-to-back threes by Sanon seemed to put the game beyond reach for Brescia, as he made it a 71-59 game. Brescia looked to mount a late comeback, but a DJ Stephens dunk all but wrapped up the victory at 77-70 in the final minute. In the end, Prometey won 79-72 to record with its fourth victory in a row and exact some revenge, having lost in Round 2 to Brescia.