Union Neuchâtel was opportunistic and admirable on Saturday evening at La Riveraine. The Neuchâtelois took the measure of Massagno 71-69, during Act III of their series of semi-finals of the Swiss Basketball League play-off and lead 2-1 in this duel disputed in the best of five matches.
Remarkable team spirit
This third act of this semi-final series was not easy for Bryan Colon and his teammates, but what emotion the Unionists brought to life for the 1,400 souls of a Riveraine hall on fire! The Neuchâtelois were certainly behind the Ticino on the scoreboard, throughout the match, with a half-time score of 39-36 in favor of Massagno, without letting Robbi Gubitosa’s men take off. In fact, the maximum gap during the game was only six points, which once again demonstrated the admirable state of mind of the La Riveraine basketball players and their mental strength, which has been constantly improving since the beginning of these Swiss Basketball League play-offs.
Selim Fofana as boss
This second victory for Union Neuchâtel in this series took shape in the last seconds of this match. The unionist top scorer, Selim Fofana, signed the decisive basket ten seconds from the “buzzer”. The playmaker of the Littoral club was also logically the man of the match with his 21 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. He was obviously over the moon after this second victory for the Neuchâtelois but above all delighted with this public from La Riveraine who pushed them:
Comments collected by Darryl Jeanneret
On the Ticino side, the frustration was felt at the end of the match, they, who are now back to the wall in this series disputed in the best of five matches. Massagno’s coach, Robbi Gubitosa analyzed this match objectively despite his team’s defeat:
The Unionists will have the opportunity to fold the case on Tuesday and qualify for the play-off final, where they will once again be able to count on a formidable public at La Riveraine. But beware, however, of the surge of pride of this ambitious and experienced team from Massagno. Act IV of this Swiss Basketball League play-off semi-final, Tuesday evening, live on RTN from 7:30 p.m. /dj
Union Neuchâtel – Spinelli Massagno 71-69 (15-18 21-21 17-18 18-12)
Salle de La Riveraine, 1,400 spectators
Referees: Novakovic (SRB) / Ballet (ITA) / Demierre (SUI)
Union Neuchâtel : Fofana (21 points/2 fouls), Gräser (0/0), Morris (3/2), Mehic (0/0), Granvorka (8/2), Colon (6/3), Martin (7/4) , Popovic (6/3), Chokoté (0/0), Anabir (10/4), Timberlake (2/0), Giddens (8/2).
Spinelli Massagno: Taylor (9 points/1 foul), Williams (9/3), Baldassarre (0/0), Martino (2/4), D. Madjan (14/4), Kovac (7/3), Nikolic (3/2), Veri (0/0), Tanackovic (0/0), M. Madjan (19/5), James (6/3).
Union Neuchâtel leads 2-1 in this best-of-five series.
Another result: Geneva Lions – Friborg Olympic 41-65 (Fribourg Olympic leads 2-1 in the other series of play-off semi-finals, played in the best of five matches).
