By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Vanoli Cremona gambled away a double-digit lead and found themselves down but managed to force overtime and win 75-73 on the road against Umana Reyer Venezia in Game 3 of Italian League semifinals.
Wesley Saunders scored 18 points for the winning team followed by Andrew Crawford’s 16 and Mangok Mathiang’s 15 points.
Venezia was trailing by a ten-point margin (45-35) in the third quarter but bounced back and although Mitchell Watt put them ahead 65-63 with 14 seconds left, Cremona’s Crawford answered in the following offense and sent the game into overtime. He also nailed a crucial triple in the extra time which pushed his squad to victory.
For Venezia, Austin Daye scored 18 in addition to Watt’s 15 points and 12 rebounds. Michael Bramos also notched a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards.
Cremona took the 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series with this win but Venezia will have the home court advantage one more time in Game 4 scheduled for June 5.