Derthona-Agrigento 82-61, the news
DERTHONA 82
AGRIGENTO 61
DERTHONA BEARS: Greene 9, Cosey 23, Alviti 7, Ricci 14, Sanna 4, Taverna ne, Conti, Mascherpa 8, Garri 15, Apuzzo, Cucci 2. Coach Cavina
MONCADA AGRIGENTO: Bucci, Buford 18, Cuffaro, Zugno 12, Evangelisti ne, Tartaglia, Ferraro, Chiarastella 11, Piazza 5, Bell-Holter 15. Coach Ciani
REFEREES: Ciaglia, Maffei and Maschio.
NOTE. First half: 42-31. Partials: 23-19, 19-13, 22-12, 18-18. Spectators: 1800.
VOGHERA. Derthona against Agrigento wins with great authority 82-61, reversing the difference in goals after the first leg match which Moncada had won 84-70. Evangelisti tries in the warm-up to be part of the match, but the fever stops him and he is not part of the match. Ciani chooses Bucci, Buford, Chiarastella, Piazza and Bell-Holter. While Greene, Cosey, Sanna, Ricci and Garri leave for Derthona. The match begins in front of a still sold out PalaOltrepo in Voghera (1800 spectators present) Ricci responds to Buford, but Greene's dunk in transition brings the Lions crowd into the game. After four minutes of the match Derthona makes the first minibreak (12-4) with six consecutive points from captain Garri. The Lions find good spacing and manage to win several second shots, defending strongly behind with Cavina alternating Sanna and Alviti on Buford (17,4 points per game in regular season). The first quarter ends 23-18 for Derthona in which the team takes almost double the rebounds (14-8). The second period begins and Derthona on the pitch with a small quintet (Cucci, Alviti, Sanna, Greene and Mascherpa) does not go behind although a stop and shot by Piazza and a tap in by Zugno bring Agrigento closer (23-25). The locals lose a bit of feeling with the basket, but continue to dominate in rebounds and at mid-period the score is 29-24 for Derthona. The technical whistle given to Ferraro puts the Lions up by eight points (34-26). The double-digit advantage arrived two minutes before halftime with a penetration by Cosey (38-28). Although the team struggled from long range, the first half ended with a tap in by Alviti following a short shot by Conti. Piazza dies with the ball in his hands (42-31). The third period begins and it's 4-0 for the Lions with Ciani getting furious at the third foot infraction that is whistled at him. Buford gives Agrigento a breath of fresh air with two consecutive baskets. With 5'43'' left in the third period, Derthona leads 48-36. The team is in slight decline, but keeps Agrigento at a distance with a great defense that will concede only 12 points in the entire period. Cosey's penetration and Ricci's bomb give an important boost to the match, taking Derthona 58-39. Moncada is in total blackout and the Bianconeri end the third period in control of the match (64-43). In the last quarter Derthona limited themselves to managing (also reaching +23) with Moncada unable to return to the match and the Bianconeri managing to achieve their tenth victory out of eleven matches in the second half of the season. It ends 82-61, double double for Garri (15 points, 10 rebounds), Cosey MVP with 23 points.
Coach Franco Ciani: “It wasn't the best match to deal with the absences, faced with good internal performances we struggle away from Agrigento. Despite this, we could have done something better in terms of defense and second shots where the aspect of desire is decisive. We had offensive difficulties that we expected, we have to put aside the negative performance and start again."
Coach Demis Cavina: “I'm happy because we managed to play an easy game against a difficult opponent. Evangelisti's stop was unexpected, but I think that Agrigento is a team with great athletic qualities. The thing I liked most is that we managed to play physical, taking lots of rebounds where they have centimeters and physicality. In attack we played the best game in terms of distribution of shots, a good match, I congratulate everyone including Taverna who didn't come on, but gives everything like his teammates. We are preparing for the derby on Thursday. I thank the guys who are doing incredible things."
