Dieners’ Help Team To Italy Cup

Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari made history by lifting the club’s first trophy ever, the Italy Cup, with a 73-80 victory over defending champion Montepaschi Siena at Mediolanum Forum in Milan on Sunday. Travis Diener was named MVP after posting 17 points and 4 assists. Caleb Green paced the winners with 18 points, while Diener’s cousin, Drake, chipped in 14 and Marques Green posted 9 plus 7 assists. Erick Green led all the scorers with 22 points for Siena. Ben Ortner bagged 17 with 8 boards and Joshua Carter had 16 more points for the losers. Green’s 8 points in a row and a three-point-play by Drew Gordon broken a balanced start to give Sassari a six-point lead before a huge dunk by Siena’s Othello Hunter made it 14-18 after one quarter. Gordon capped an 8-0 run for Sassari’s first double-digit margin, 14-24. Hunter’s layup and free throw made it 20-24 before a final 7-0 Sassari run ended with Drake Diener beating the buzzer for a 28-45 lead at halftime. Green’s three-point shot was worth a 28-48 margin to start the third quarter, but Siena did not give up. Joshua Carter’s free throws and Marquez Haynes’s turn-around jumper capped a 19-2 run that got Siena within 47-50. The Dieners and Gordon, who got free throws after grabbing offensive rebounds, re-established a 53-64 advantage for Sassari early in the final quarter. Hunter, from downtown, got Siena within 65-72 with less than 2 minutes left, but Travis Diener’s mid-range jumper and free throws sealed the historic win of Sassari.