Generazione Vincente Napoli Basket beats EA7 Armani Milano and wins the 2024 Italian Basketball Cup. A feat of the quintet coached by Igor Milicic who after 18 years won the Italian Cup final by overcoming the Italian champions with the score of 77-72, and lifts the Cup with merit after the exciting and wonderful adventure experienced in Turin. Milicic’s team, after overcoming the Serie A leaders Germani Brescia in the quarter-finals, and beating UnaHotels Reggio Emilia in overtime in the semi-final, also defeated Milan in the final. «We did something that the city of Naples will remember forever – the words of coach Milicic – It is also a success for our fans and for our club. It was a great achievement for the team.”
«We are happy to have made the people of Naples happy – the words of Michal Sokolowski, MVP of the match – They are always there. victory, and the Italian Cup is all for them.” A triple by Jacob Pullen with 17 seconds left allows Generazione Vincente Napoli to win the Italian Cup. In 1969, Partenope had succeeded, before the success of 2006. In a match almost always conducted from start to finish, coach Milicic celebrated a masterpiece, obtained as the number seven seed. Napoli did not suffer from the tiredness of the less day of rest and a much more competitive semi-final. The symbol is Tyler Ennis, who attacks the area with conviction, arms Zubcic’s hand (two triples) and is decisive for the extension (8-15) which forces Messina to time out. Milan has a good offensive contribution from Melli.
However, Napoli suffocated Shields and with Sokolowski maintained the lead until the first quarter, which ended 19-24. In the second the Messina team immediately gets back together with a 7-0 run (26-28), but the Campanians always keep up the fight with Ennis. Shields is only released from the line and Voigtmann takes care of exploiting the few cracks that are created. On the other hand, Pullen’s first spells (a triple and a splendid pass to De Nicolao) made it 36-43 at halftime. Upon returning from the locker rooms, Milan slipped to -12 (36-48): a new timeout was the wake-up call that triggered Olimpia, who returned to -3 thanks to a driving Melli. However, the overtaking never comes, because coach Milicic always finds a new resource. The EA7 has the worry of always having to chase and makes a lot of mistakes, both from below and from beyond the arc. On the other side Ennis makes fun of Napier and scores 62-70 with 2′ to go. It almost seems like a knockout blow, but two triples from Mirotic and Shields (on the first field goal) reopen the game with 60 seconds left (68-70). In the last minute everything happens: Shields brings Milan ahead after a lifetime (from 6-3 at the beginning), but Pullen, 13 seconds from the siren, pulls the champion’s play out of the hat: it’s the triple of 71-73 for Napoli with Messina calling time out for the last action. But Milan loses the ball Sokolowski and Ennis score the decisive free throws on the line that deservedly give Napoli the Italian Cup. Naples is in history.