Heading into Wednesday’s Group B showdown at the BLM Group Arena, the chances of Dolomiti Energia Trento edging a low-scoring win over Gran Canaria did not look high.
After all, explosive Gran Canaria came into the game averaging a league-high 87 points per game, while struggling Trento’s winless record was largely explained by the fact that the Italian team had allowed 86.8 points per game, the worst defensive record in Group B.
But on Wednesday night Trento turned the form book on its head with a vastly improved defensive effort to secure its first win, 75-72, restricting Gran Canaria to its lowest-scoring night of the season by a full 10 points.
After the game, victorious head coach Emanuele Molin stated that his team’s ambition was to limit Gran Canaria’s three-point shooting and force the visitors into turnovers. That gameplan certainly came to fruition, with the Spanish team making just 9 of 31 attempts from long-range (29%) and committing 20 turnovers – much worse than its overall season stats of 38.7% for threes and 14.2 turnovers.
The victory was even more welcome for Trento because it ended an extremely long losing streak in the 7DAYS EuroCup, stretching back more than a year to November 17, 2021, and an 81-77 victory over Slask Wroclaw in Round 5 of last season’s competition. Since then Trento had lost 17 consecutive games in the competition, so it’s understandable that there were plenty of nerves floating around the BLM Group Arena in the final few seconds.
Such tight and nervous victories can also require a dose of fortune, and Trento certainly had that in the decisive stages. With 21 seconds remaining and the home side leading 73-71, Trento had possession but Diego Flaccadori turned it over, giving Andrew Albicy a direct route to the basket.
Albicy drew a foul from Trent Lockett on the way up to shoot, but his attempted layup rolled around and out, meaning he had the chance to tie the game from the line. Albicy is a decent free throw shooter, making 76.8% of his foul shots over the course of his seven-season EuroCup career, but on this occasion, he missed the first to keep Trento ahead.
There was still time for Trento to survive another scare: with Gran Canaria needing a three-pointer to tie the game and force overtime, John Shurna’s shot on the final buzzer was no good, and Trento’s first win was finally assured.
So it took a little luck and some missed opportunities by the opponent, but mostly it took an excellent defensive effort. That showed the path for Molin’s men to follow, and with plenty of games remaining, there’s every chance their season could be transformed.
