Italy - (10.1.) Montepaschi Siena 73 Bennet Cantu 70 (2011 Super Coppa Final)

(Welcome to Italy - David Lighty is guarded by American Euroleague Star Bo MaCalebb at the 2011 Italian Super Coppa - Foroli, Italy - 10.1.2011)

10.1.2011 - Bennet Cantu 70 vs Montepaschi Siena 73 (2011 Italian Super Coppa Finals)
- David Lighty: 5 points

National Cup - So we always talk about how cool it is that International play has all these various competition & tournaments. Most overseas leagues typically have a regular season format, post-season playoffs, All-Star game & a Cup Tournament. The National Cups are separate competitions where four to eight of the country's top teams compete in a single tournament. Some countries, like Italy, have the National Cup before the Regular Season as a way to kick the season off in celebratory fashion, but others may play their Cup tournaments during the season's midpoint.

Winning the National Cup is one of the two or three main goals for every top team overseas (The strong teams want to win the League, regular season & playoffs, win the National Cup, and win in Europe meaning the Euroleague, Eurocup, or Eurochallenge competitions, doing so would earn a rare FIBA Triple Crown).

Into the Fire - David Lighty arrived to Italy for pre-season training in August. His club, Bennet Cantu, competed in preparation games all through September before capping the pre-season off with an intense Super Coppa Finals clash with Montepaschi Siena. This was quite a way to kick of the Italian Basketball season with a rematch of last season's playoff finals. Siena the dominant club in Italy and is also a top five rated team in all of Europe. They have won the last five Italian League Championships the last 3 National Cups. The 2011 Super Coppa Final versus league giant Siena was David's first big game in Europe.

Siena Edges Cantu - This was a very high level game in early October. Bennet Cantu's strong defense & efficient offense controlled most of the game. Cantu could have & probably should have won, but Siena showed their championship mettle by answering every one of Cantu's second half runs. In what was a very high pressure filled moment, David Lighty had a chance to send the game into overtime in the waning seconds of the game, but the Rookie made 1 of 2 at the foul like which prompted Cantu to commit a desperation foul. Siena subsequently made both free throws en route to a 70-73 victory. Despite not making his final foul shot, Lighty was able to gain valuable experience from his first real high level outing in Italy. And Cantu was generally encouraged from this contest as well, this was the closest Coppa Finals in years..Siena's last 3 Cup Titles were all blowouts. Next up for Cantu is the Italian League Regular Season opener.