
BCC plays on par with Venice, who wins in the final
Autosped BCC Derthona-Umana Reyer Venice 62-69
(17-18, 32-39, 49-57)
Scoreboards:
BCC Derthona: Dotto 11, Marangoni, Fontaine 2, Milani 3, Premasunac, Leonardi ne, Arado 8, Cocuzza ne, Attura 6, Penna 28, Gatti ne, Coates 4. All. Cutugno
Venice: Logoh ne, Smalls 12, Villa 15, Nicolodi, Pan 2, Stankovic 10, Cubaj 11, Miccoli, Fassina 3, Santucci 2, Kuier 14. Coach Mazzon
A high-level match at the Cittadella dello Sport between Autosped BCC Derthona and Umana Reyer Venezia. The match was balanced for all forty minutes, with the lagoon team leading for long stretches. The team coached by Cutugno resisted all of the opponents' attempts to break away, remaining in contact and playing on equal terms until the final siren.
First quarter of the game in total balance at Cittadella: Autosped, with an attentive and choral defense, limits the opponents' initiatives and - driven by the verve of Penna (10 points in the first quarter) - plays on par with Venice. At 10' the score is 17-18. In the second period Reyer places an acceleration finding baskets at the rim, but BCC reacts and shortens in the final: at the interval the guests lead 32-39.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, the match continues with the same leitmotiv of the first half, with Reyer leading and Autosped staying in contact. With a burst of Penna, the team coached by Cutugno returns to two possessions of detachment, before the guests - in the final stages - extend the lead to 49-57 at 30'. In the last quarter the Giraffes remain in contact, play hard on both halves of the court and, at 57-63 at 35', create more opportunities to return to a one-possession deficit, before Reyer manages to place the extension to +10 (59-69) in the last minute. The last attempts to come back by BCC reduce the gap to 62-69 at the siren.
Coach Orazio Cutugno's comment: "We know the level of Venice and the physicality that a EuroLeague team can have, especially in the decisive phase of the game. With a few less mental errors, perhaps we could have had a different ending. However, we are satisfied. Compared to the first leg, we have grown, I think that Venice with the quintet paid a bit for the tiredness of the double commitment: with a greater killer instinct we could have taken advantage of their very few moments of difficulty. I take this opportunity to wish everyone the best of Happy Holidays".
Elisa Penna's words: "It was a game played until the end: compared to the first leg we had a different approach in terms of energy, aggression and hunger. We are growing and the beauty of this group, despite the absences we have, is that it manages to overcome difficulties, which is not a given. Reyer was certainly not in its best shape today, but with the long roster for the double commitment it certainly managed to make up for that. For us it was an excellent test against the best team in Italy at the moment".