BBC Police edged Amazon 76-74 in the Bascol Coupe eliminatoires at police/central, surviving a tense finish after trailing most of the first half. Amazon opened sharper and built the largest lead of the night, +9 at 13-22 after the first quarter behind Lorenzo Merci and Filippo Mancini. Police steadied in the second: Kevin Moura Santos strung together five consecutive points to bring it to 30-30, but Fabrizio Merlo restored the cushion and Amazon still led 32-37 at the break.
The game flipped early in the third. After Merlo stretched it to 32-40 with a triple, Police answered with an 11-0 run powered by Christian Schreiner's free throws and a three, plus Jeff Bofferding at the rim, to seize a 43-40 edge. A pivotal moment followed when Lorenzo Merci was disqualified in the third quarter after two technical fouls; he had 14 points to that stage. Giorgio Riboldi's five straight points closed the period at 54-54.
Schreiner then took command. He opened the fourth with a two and a three for 59-54 and later buried another pair of triples to push Police ahead 71-66, while Amazon kept answering: Luke Feldman hit from deep twice in the quarter, including the shot that cut it to 75-74, and Merlo drilled back-to-back threes earlier to tie it at 66-66. Schreiner's late free throw set the final margin, and Police got the necessary stop.
Top performers
- BBC Police: Christian Schreiner poured in 41 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, accounting for 54% of Police's offense. Kevin Moura Santos added 20 and authored that second-quarter 5-0 burst; Sascha Weber (6) and Jeff Bofferding (5) chipped in timely points. Coach Norman Aust's team also authored the decisive 11-0 surge in the third.
- Amazon: Fabrizio Merlo scored 16, including four three-pointers; Lorenzo Merci had 14 before his disqualification; Giorgio Riboldi 11, Filippo Mancini 10, and Luke Feldman 9 with two clutch threes down the stretch. Coach Francesco Cecchetto also contributed 9 points.
Police's biggest lead was +6 (64-58); Amazon's was +9 (13-22). The closing minutes were a trading of blows, with Schreiner securing the win at the line.
(AI generated)
BBC Police