Fortuna Bologna saw off Rimini 78:66 on Sunday evening in Serie A2. The hosts kept their third-place standing intact while the visitors dropped further down the table. The result followed the pattern of the season so far, with Bologna proving difficult to beat at home.
And here's the thing about this fixture — you knew where it was heading before the ball went up. The prediction called for a home win at 58 per cent confidence. It came through, though not as comfortably as the numbers suggested.
Bologna have lost only once in their last five outings, a narrow 74:75 defeat to Verona in May. They followed that with a 73:86 loss, then bounced back with a 92:70 win over Ruvo di Puglia and an 83:81 victory against Caserta. Consistency like that doesn't happen by accident.
Rimini's recent form tells a different story. They lost 72:73 to Avellino on their last outing, after a convincing 84:59 win over Montecatini. But since then they've stumbled against Verona three times in as many months. To be fair, Verona have been competitive, but the pattern is clear enough.
The table paints the picture. Bologna sit on 50 points from 36 games, 11 behind leaders but holding firm in third. Rimini sit ninth with 42 points, 15 defeats weighing on them. The gap between them isn't vast, but it's enough to separate ambition from disappointment.
By then, the result meant Bologna stayed in the mix for a playoff spot while Rimini's hopes of climbing further dimmed. Seven-point margins don't decide seasons, but they add up. The hosts pulled away just enough to make a statement without blowing the game open.
