ITA - Macchi leads Schio to title glory [video]

SCHIO (Lega A1 Women/EuroBasket Women) - Familia-Wuber Schio beat defending champions Cras Taranto 75-59 in the fifth and deciding game of the A1 Finals to take their fourth league title.

The result caps a memorable campaign for Schio, who also triumphed in the Italian Cup and lost just one regular season game.

Laura Macchi had 20 points and 12 rebounds in the winning effort and was named the Finals MVP after averaging 16.4 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Down 51-49, the home team went on a 15-3 run spearheaded by Israel point guard Liron Cohen and shooting guard Betta Moro who was playing in her farewell game.

Macchi closed out the game, one in which Schio dominated the boards (43-22).

It wasn't the first time the 32-year-old performed in the clutch. She prevented her team from falling into a 2-0 hole by hitting big free-throws in Schio's Game 2 win.

Macchi's excellent final series served to show just how much she will be missed by the Italian national team.

The former WNBA Los Angeles Sparks forward announced she will not take part in EuroBasket's Additional Qualifying Tournament in Taranto (3-8 June) because of personal reasons, after missing last summer's Qualifying Round through injury.

Giampiero Ticchi's squad will face Serbia, Germany, Belgium and Romania with the group winner advancing to a final series (12-15 June) where the final spot for 2011 EuroBasket in Poland will be on offer.

Italy, who finished a surprising sixth at EuroBasket 2009, will rely on four other Schio players - point guard Chiara Pastore, sharp shooting forward Raffaella Masciadri and power forwards Manuela Ramon and Jennifer Nadalin.



FIBA