ITA - Benetton stun Montepaschi in comeback for the ages

BOLOGNA (Coppa Italia) - David Blatt and Benetton Treviso never stopped believing they could win their Coppa Italia semi-final against Montepaschi Siena on Saturday night, even when trailing 71-55 midway through the final quarter.

The basketball gods smiled on them with Italian duo Marco Mordente and Matteo Soragna getting hot at the right time to help Benetton pull off a dramatic 76-75 victory.

Mordente hit four late three-pointers, and Soragna also buried a three at the buzzer to secure the triumph which must be one of the greatest comebacks in the competition’s history.

Next up are hosts Virtus Bologna, who edged Armani Jeans Milano in the other semi.

“It’s unbelievable,” Benetton coach Blatt said to PA Sport.

“It’s fantastic. That is why we play this game.”

What was more improbable, Mordente getting off the bench to replace Marcus Goree with four minutes remaining and hitting three consecutive threes and adding a fourth in the final minute, or Soragna making a game-winning shot in what has been, by his own admission, a season of horrors shooting the ball?

“I did expect him (Soragna) to make that shot,” said Blatt.

“Matteo has been through some tough times. On Sunday, he missed an easier shot (against Tisettanta Cantu) but he’s a guy with a lot of pride in himself and a lot of character and I believed he was going to make it.”

“Some shots you do have to make and we were lucky because in the last quarter, shots went in,” Soragna said.

“Really, it was down to Marco Mordente that we were in the game.”

A humble statement, yet one that was true.

Mordente, a key man in Benetton’s title-winning campaign last season - his first with the team after joining from Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia - enjoyed one of his finest moments.

His first three cut Montepaschi’s lead to 71-60, and his second which followed immediately after made it 71-63.

Soragna then came up with a steal from Rimantas Kaukenas, Mordente got the ball in his hands and he nailed his third consecutive three to leave Montepaschi nervously holding onto a 71-66 lead.

When Joe Forte, a star performer for Montepaschi this season, put up another three and missed, Soragna went to the other end and scored to make it a three-point game.

Terrell McIntyre’s two free throws stopped the bleeding for Montepaschi, but only temporarily because Mordente was fouled, went to the charity stripe and sank both attempts to trim the lead to 73-70.

With the Benetton bench buzzing, Forte turned it over again and Mordente raced down the floor to bury his fourth three-ball to tie the game at 73-73.

Benetton’s Spencer Nelson then appeared to bail out Montepaschi by fouling McIntyre with nine seconds remaining and the American made both for a 75-73 lead.
Blatt’s men inbounded the ball to Greek international Nikos Zisis who dribbled up the floor, passed to a closely-guarded Soragna at the top of the key and the Benetton captain made no mistake, with the buzzer sounding as the ball fell through the hoop.

Benetton have not been a good shooting team this season, and that was the case for the first three and a half quarters.

“That’s the kind of team we are,” Blatt said.

“We are not as talented as we were last year.

“To be honest, we do not have the same kind of overall talent, but we defend much better.

“We have one thing that you can’t buy in the supermarket, though. We have the will to win. When you have that, you can find a way.

“We found the hard way tonight.”

Blatt had very big shoes to fill when he arrived at Benetton, with predecessor Ettore Messina having won the Coppa Italia and league titles.

If Benetton win on Sunday, it would be his third title with the team.

“We won a Super Cup, and the championship (last season). We’ve been to two final 16s. We’re still one of the best teams in Italy. I’m proud to be associated
with this club and the players I have.”

But will Benetton have enough gas in the tank to face a confident Virtus that will have their home fans behind them?

“The number one thing for Virtus is they are playing at home, they’ve got momentum,” Blatt said.

“We’ve been through a lot this year, changes of players and other kinds of problems, but we keep coming back and that is a testament to our players.”

FIBA
Cindy Garcia-Bennett, Bologna