It was a hard-fought but incredibly valuable victory for Openjobmetis Varese, which defeated Pallacanestro Trieste 85-84 at the end of a hard-fought and thrilling game that wasn’t decided until the final moments. Still without the injured McDowell-White, but with Amedeo Della Valle back in the lineup, the red-and-white team faced a challenging game in which they managed to build a significant lead but were unable to seal the victory. The visitors, in fact, deserve credit for never giving up, rallying to tie the game in the frantic finale, before a free throw by Della Valle gave Coach Kastritis’s team a victory that was as hard-fought as it was important. Openjobmetis will return to the court as early as Tuesday evening, when at 8:00 p.m. they will host Peristeri Betsson at the Itelyum Arena for their first home game of the BCL season.
Duke Jr. opened the scoring, but Trieste responded immediately with a basket by Ross, setting the tone for a closely contested start. After baskets by Hale and Kamagate, Candussi and Brajkovic gave the visitors their first lead (6-10), and they managed to stay ahead thanks largely to Ross’s efforts. Openjobmetis, however, fought back with grit: Duke Jr. hit a three-pointer, Librizzi put them ahead from the free-throw line, and Alviti and Kamagate extended the lead to 19-14. McDermott’s free throw set the score at 19-15 at the end of the first ten minutes.
Varese came out strong and, thanks to Hale and Alviti’s three-pointer, surged ahead 24-15, but the Giulian team refused to be intimidated and mounted a comeback that—fueled by baskets from Ruzzier, Candussi, and Deangeli, culminated in Ross’s tying basket and Galloway’s subsequent go-ahead shot (26-29). The visitors extended their lead further, but Della Valle rallied the team, bringing the red-and-whites back within striking distance. A heated back-and-forth ensued, during which Hale’s three-pointer gave Varese the lead again (36-34), only for Jones to immediately tie it up. In the closing minutes, Alviti and Ross traded baskets blow for blow, before Nikolic hit the basket that made it 40-38, the score as the two teams headed into halftime.
After Brajkovic’s opening basket, Openjobmetis shifted gears, relying on three-pointers from Roby and Duke Jr. and a basket by Renfro, which gave the red-and-whites their first real lead at 49-40. Trieste tried to fight back with Galloway, but Varese kept pushing and, led by Alviti, Nikolic, Librizzi, and Hale’s three-pointer, reached its biggest lead at 58-45. The Giulian team, however, didn’t give up and took advantage of a slump by the home team to gradually close the gap, thanks mainly to Ross and Galloway. It was Galloway himself, with an incredible three-pointer at the buzzer, who brought the visitors back to within a single possession at 61-58.
Trieste closed the gap even further thanks to Deangeli, but two three-pointers by Hale and five consecutive points by Ikangi allowed Openjobmetis to fend off the visitors’ comeback attempt. The red-and-whites seemed to have the game under control when Duke Jr. made it 78-68 from the free-throw line, but Jones took charge and, with seven straight points, brought the Giulian team back to 78-74. Della Valle responds with a huge three-pointer, but Trieste keeps believing and, led once again by Jones, first cuts the deficit to 2 (83-81) and then ties the game at 84. In the closing moments, it was Della Valle who stepped up to take the three decisive free throws, making one and securing a heart-stopping 85-84 victory for Openjobmetis.