Baglietto had a sensational fourth quarter, securing another EuroCup comeback win against Rostock.
Baglietto Derthona Tortona – Rostock Seawolves 86-83
(23-24, 39-44, 57-70)
Derthona : Eboua 5, Hubb 15, Gorham 8, Pecchia 3, A. Alibegovic 8, Di Meo ne, Bortolani 16, Olejniczak 6, Maddox 2, Gazzotti ne, Jallow 10, Durham 13. Coach Fioretti.
Rostock : Crockett 10, Copeland 22, Lockhart, Baggette ne, Hartwich 2, Lansdowne 5, Amaize 11, Loll ne, Stove 11, Withers 8, Konontsuk 10, Leuchten 4. All. Frasunkiewicz.
Referees : Racys (LTU), Hadzic (CRO), Pazourek (CZE).
Spectators : 1.762
Another European comeback. After their match against Burgos a week ago, Baglietto Derthona Tortona pulled off another late-game victory at the Nova Arena to maintain their unbeaten home record with an 86-83 victory over the Rostock Seawolves in their fifth matchday of the regular season, Group A of the BKT EuroCup. Trailing by 13 at the end of the third quarter and with the game seemingly heading in Germany's direction, Mario Fioretti's black-and-white team mounted a dramatic final-quarter sprint, winning 29-13, to secure their third victory and maintain their spot in the playoff zone with a positive win-loss record. The game turned around with two consecutive three-pointers by Amar Alibegovic, the shock that led to Derthona's first lead with 6 minutes left, which, between the rebounds and free throws by Eboua, the offensive plays by Bortolani and Durham and the defensive consistency of Jallow and Pecchia, led to the winning result, sealed by Zach Copeland's missed three-pointer at the buzzer which prevented the game from going into overtime.
The match
Copeland's seven points helped Rostock get off to a flying start, leading 11-4 after the first three minutes. The Germans repeatedly struck from beyond the arc, and Lansdowne's three-pointer seemed to seal the visitors' mini-break at 6-14 midway through the period. However, Jallow and the newcomer Hubb had other ideas, pulling the tie back in two plays (11-14), allowing Olejniczak's initial work under the basket to continue. The visitors' shooters made their presence felt (5-of-8 from three in the first period), with Crockett and Withers joining in on the long-range scoring to maintain the lead. Pecchia and the usual Hubb were no exception, however, with two consecutive three-pointers to put Derthona back in close quarters, 23-24.
Rostock continued its 5-point fest (14 of 35 by the end of the game), and again with Copeland, again from beyond the arc, the visitors took their first double-digit lead (30-40), with Amaize extending it to 30-42 two minutes later. Derthona, however, held firm, with a pair of baskets from Jallow helping them to a five-point lead at the half, 39-44.
The German of the hosts allowed Tortona to get back to within one point upon returning to the court, but Rostock responded with an immediate 7-0 run to close the gap to double digits and, relying on their renewed high percentages from beyond the arc, equaled their maximum gap to Derthona with consecutive 2-for-2 shots from the usual Copeland and Amaize. It was a moment of great difficulty for the hosts, who even reached 15 points (45-60). Baglietto tried to come back, but Rostock was surgical in always pushing them back. Two triples from Withers and Copeland (5 of 10 from three) brought the lead back to double digits, 57-70, the score that led to the final mini-break.
Free throws from a combative Eboua and a 2-and-1 from Bortolani revived Nova Arena's hopes, and the heat returned after Durham's explosive shot, forcing the visiting coach to call a timeout to halt the 10-0 run that had left the two teams within a single possession, 67-70 at the 32nd minute. Upon returning to the court, Alibegovic suddenly took center stage, hitting two three-pointers in two plays—interspersed with a defensive steal from Pecchia—to seal Derthona's first lead, 73-72 at the 34th minute. The Lions held on to the lead steadily in the final minutes, with Bortolani and Durham repeatedly stinging on offense, including the American point guard's three-pointer with 28 seconds left, making it 81-78. With Gorham making 2 free throws following a disruptive foul by Stove that put the lead within one possession, the game seemed over with 13" to go, 83-78, but a turnover and a triple by Amaize put the Germans back in the game, 83-81 with 11" to go. Bortolani makes 1/2 free throws, Jallow commits a tactical foul on Copeland who makes both free throws with 6" left on the clock (84-83). Bortolani's hand doesn't waver either with the clock stopped and with 4" to go he's back up by 3, a gap that Copeland's full-court run and resulting three-pointer can't bridge.
The next BKT EuroCup appointment for Baglietto will be in Slovenia on the Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana pitch on Wednesday 4 November at 19:30 pm.
The Statements
Coach Mario Fioretti: "Honestly, for about three quarters, we played awful basketball, then we had an incredible fourth quarter. That period had it all: great aggression, we jumped on our opponents, grabbed a lot of rebounds, recovered the ball, ran the court, and circulated the ball well on offense. Obviously, overall, we could have done better; the first thing that comes to mind is a lack of aggression at times and a few turnovers that could have been avoided. But we had the character to react; the boys really wanted to win, and they did it with that fourth quarter—I repeat, incredible."
(PHOTOCREDIT: DERTHONA BASKET)
