Sebastiani Rieti secured a 78-70 victory over Pistoia in the Serie A2 on Sunday evening. The home side used their advantage at the PalaTrenta to close out a match that could have gone either way. By then, the result felt inevitable rather than surprising.
Rieti sit sixth in the table with twenty-two wins from thirty-six games. They have nothing to lose against a Pistoia side languishing in eighteenth place. And here's the thing — the home team's confidence showed through in the fourth quarter.
Pistoia's record tells a different story: eight victories and twenty-eight defeats in the same number of outings. They had lost five of their last seven matches before travelling to Rieti. The visitors picked up two bookings in five minutes of their recent form — three losses in a row.
We had backed the hosts at 56 per cent confidence before kickoff. The prediction held up, though not without tension. Rieti held their nerve when Pistoia pushed back in the third period, keeping their composure to see the game out.
The visitors' recent results paint a worrying picture: defeats to Torino, Livorno, and three losses to Cividale Eagles in May. They had beaten Ruvo di Puglia twice in May but could not replicate that form. To be fair, basketball has its own rhythm.
Rieti's last three matches show mixed fortunes: victories over Cividale Eagles and Caserta before a heavier defeat. They ended a barren spell with this win, building momentum ahead of their next fixture. The gap between sixth and eighteenth place is now wider.
