The first one is done!
Maybe Derthona wasn't the best, but certainly one of the most effective seen in this championship, the one that beat Piacenza 65-47 in game 1 of the playoff final. In the end, more than the individualities, what stands out is the overall work with the final 18 point difference, the result above all of a good performance, first and foremost, in defence, allowing only forced shots to the opponents and in attack with all Arioli's boys, who turn, they knew how to impact the match.
After an inevitably nervous start with a mass of errors on both sides and the score still at football levels after five minutes (1-2), it was Venuto who released the tension first by providing a masterful assist to Rotondo and then by putting in a bomb that distances the guests 8-2, forcing them to chase from there until the final siren. In the meantime, under the scoreboards, Samoggia and Rotondo take the measure of their counterparts Gambolati (who didn't appear to be in the best conditions) and Italiano, who as usual was too foul and nervous.
The first quarter thus ends 14-7 with only Garofalo keeping Emilia's honor high. But the highlight of the evening comes at the start of the second half when Cernivani scores two consecutive triples which heat up (given the subtropical climate already underway) the stands of the PalaCamagna dressed to the nines by the fans. Meanwhile, Gioria, back on the court after the injury suffered against Cecina, finds the right symbiosis with Venuto and together they extend the break to an eloquent 30-13 in the 17th minute. Piacenza already seems to be in crisis and only Rombaldoni, when Arioli gives a few minutes' break to his "hound" Viglianisi, tries to recover the situation, but without particular honors: 34-19 before the long break, with a miserable 8/37 shooting for foreigners compared to 13/29 for locals. At the restart of the game Venuto, again him, places another malicious bomb for the guests, who also suffer the third foul by Italiano and there is also glory for Strotz who scores 43-22 and therefore an unexpected +21 for Derthona at 25'.
Vitali and his associates just had to manage the considerable advantage until the third siren 48-33. Derthona does not lose concentration even in the last quarter with Piacenza attempting a half-hearted pressing that is repeatedly overcome by Venuto, Viglianisi, Gioria and Cernivani who in the 36th minute signs the maximum gap of 24 points at 61-37 amidst the celebration of the 500 fans in white.
For the Emilians it is time to surrender: the final sorties of Garofalo and Zampolli are of little use while in the Tortona home there is time to see Stanojevic at work who in a couple of minutes tries two bombs in vain, while Dario Gay, in a single action, he is "satisfied" with stealing the ball and scoring his 20 seconds of fame on the counterattack. Thursday evening at 21 pm the second act of the final in Piacenza, where the reaction of Bonaiuti (unrecognizable in Tortona) and his teammates will be probable, but everything will depend on the Juventus defense called upon to resist for another 40 minutes to rightfully enter history local basketball, without postponing the fate of the series to the beautiful one scheduled for Saturday evening at 21.15pm again at the PalaCamagna, when, for everyone instead, it would be better to celebrate... at the happy hour of the Armana Tournament!
