Raimond Sassari beat Alperia Merano 34-29 on Saturday, 31 October, at PalaSantoru in the ninth round of the Serie A Gold regular season. The win took the Rossoblù to 17 points, keeping them top of the standings ahead of the scheduled break.
The match was evenly balanced in the early stages. Sassari took their first two-goal lead at 5-3 in the 9th minute, but Merano responded with three consecutive goals to go ahead 6-5 in the 13th. The home side moved back in front, then went through a nine-minute spell without scoring. In the 25th minute, also taking advantage of Bargelli’s temporary suspension, the visitors reached 11-7.
Ratko Durkovic’s team fought back before half-time: Jarlstam scored to level the match, but Simon Gerstgrasser scored Merano’s 12-11 goal before the break. In the second half, De La Santa put Sassari back in front, 15-14, in the 37th minute. From then on, Raimond never relinquished the lead.
The decisive spell came between the 37th and 43rd minutes, with a 6-1 run that put Sassari ahead 21-15. The Rossoblù then extended their lead to 30-22 in the 53rd minute, coming close to a double-digit advantage. Merano cut the deficit in the closing stages but never made it a contest again. The match ended 34-29, after a 11-12 first half.
Raimond’s top scorer was Jarlstam, with 10 goals; Mouriño scored six. For Merano, Conte finished with seven goals and Ernst with six. The win follows the Rossoblù’s victory over Molteno in the eighth round: Raimond had beaten Molteno 33-19.
Serie A Gold now takes a break. Durkovic’s team will return to action on Saturday, 14 November, away to Bolzano. In Raimond’s scoring record, alongside Jarlstam and Mouriño, Pugliese, Delogu and Furtado each scored four goals, Diagne scored three, and Bargelli and Ben Hiba scored one each; De La Santa scored one goal.