SIENA - Simone Pianigiani is a man of miracles. As if the ones performed with Mens Sana weren’t enough, yesterday he was able to pull off another in leading a young Nazionale, orphaned by  the Gallinari-Bargnani-Belinelli trio and other absentees, to a victory over the championship’s stars. Italy takes it (90-88 final score) and Montepaschi Siena’s coach, in Azzurra mode, got some good pointers to use along the way to the European Championship in a few months. Head Coach Pianigiani was undoubtedly the main focus of the convoy sent to Milan, highly sought after by media and Italian basketball fans all weekend, who are all very impressed by the road undertaken in December 2009 and marked last summer with an immediate series of positive results for the Nationals movement. The Sienese coach was once again able to give a solid identity to his own who, after a very tough start to the game, markedly improved on defense, taking the talent gap between them and their opponents by surprise with organization and sacrifice. MancineHi, MVP, and Datome, his pupil, starred in the victory. In Assago from Viale Sclavo were Moss and Aradori. David Moss was a last minute choice for the All Star Game, called in to replace Rimas Kaukenas who’s been recovering from knee surgery for the past ten days. But Moss’ performance wasn’t that of a newcomer, though Coach Peterson only put him in the rotation after about 14’ in. He immediately dove in with a steal, a basket, a trip to the line and a phenomenal full-court pass second half (probably perfected in Siena watching captain Shaun Stonerook in action) that allowed him to break the ice and confirm himself a surly scorer, despite the exhibition atmosphere most of his teammates used to interpret the game defensively. Then five points (12 total) when Italy crept ahead third quarter, but he also went back to the bench, which happened to coincide with the Nationals’ decisively overtaking the game – not a good choice by Peterson. Also with the Sienese clan, but on Italy’s side, there was Pietro Aradori, a fixture for some time on Pianigiani’s roster for the Nationals. The Brescian entered at the start, first quarter, and had a tough job to do against the explosive externals the stars had to include. His contribution included three points. Aradori was a protagonist even before the All Star game, heading on court in the quartet of Nationals shooters qualified for the three point shot finals. Mens Sana’s man made a good showing of 42 points, but came in second behind ex-Mensanite, Datome (51), who eventually lost to Nicholas Mazzarino. The other contest for dunkers saw a spectacular win by James White, who gave credence to his nickname "Flight" as he flew high one dunk after another and made the Forum’s crowd go wild. Starting today, Pianigiani, Moss and Aradori are again focusing on Montepaschi. They’re concentrated on the Teramo game moved up to Thursday, with Euorleague’s quarterfinals against Olimpiakos hovering in the background.

Matteo Tasso