Bertram is capitalized, the parquet of the ambitious Trapani was conquered. Second away win out of two
Trapani Shark – Bertram Derthona 78-84
(19-16, 44-43, 59-64)
Scoreboards:
Trapani: Notae 4, Horton 13, Robinson 15, Rossato 6, A. Alibegovic 10, Galloway 7, Petrucelli 14, Yeboah 9, Mollura, Pleiss, S. Gentile, Pullazi ne. All. Repesa.
Bertram: Zerini ne, Vital 13, Kuhse 4, Gorham 8, Candi ne, Denegri 7, Strautins 15, Baldasso 9, Kamagate 2, Biligha 11, Severini 6, Weems 9. All. De Raffaele.
Referees: Attard of Priolo Gargallo (SR), Grigioni of Rome, Valleriani of Ferentino (FR).
Bertram Derthona conquers the Trapani Shark field in the fifth day of the Serie A Unipol. After Varese comes the second victory out of two away at the beginning of this season and this time at the expense of the ambitious newly promoted team, defeated 84-78 at the end of a game played impeccably by the black and white team (Zerini out due to physical problems), which stops the streak of successes of the Trapani team at three. Holding firm in the first half in front of the gusts of the home team, the 10-2 at the end of the long interval sends the score in Bertram's direction, who from 46-53 in the 23rd minute never let themselves be caught again. The team coached by Walter De Raffaele responds blow for blow to Trapani's attempts at a comeback and sprints better in the final stages managing as a team with great maturity, and a tactical defense that forced Trapani to many turnovers, the precious advantage that reached a maximum of 9 points a couple of times. Excellent performance by Denegri on both sides of the court (6 assists and 4 steals in 25') to make up for the sudden problems of fouls in the playmaking role of Kuhse, the various Gorham (9 rebounds), Biligha (5/7 shooting), Weems and Vital were surgical in terms of scoring in the fourth quarter, after Strautins had played the biggest part in terms of point production (13 of his 15 in the first half).
At 75-79 Weems scores two full possessions from mid-range with exactly 90" to go for 75-81, on the counterattack Vital blocks Robinson's drive with the American guard recovering the ball and a precious offensive rebound by Strautins earns more seconds towards the final buzzer. Only 6 remain when Rossato tries the last assault for the Sicilians with a three-pointer for 78-81, but upon returning from the Tortona time-out Weems can go to the free throw line with 4" to go on the opponent's tactical foul. The Juventus captain scores the first, effectively closing the contest, rounded off in the score two seconds later by Vital's 2/2 free throws that sets the final +6. Bertram thus obtains its third victory in four championship games while waiting for the recovery of the away game at home to Virtus Bologna.
Now for Derthona just the time to return home and take another flight to Lisbon, where on Tuesday at 21:30 they will close the first leg of Group G of the Champions League against Benfica. In the championship, the next appointment is for Sunday 3 November with the home match against Banco di Sardegna Sassari, scheduled for 17:30 at the PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris in Casale Monferrato.
STATEMENTS “The team played a very solid game for 40 minutes, without ever falling apart when Trapani, with great merit, managed to come back”, is the comment of Walter De Raffaele. “We were very good tactically in managing the game, also alternating the defense. The guys were very much on the game plan, everyone contributed and this was the key, given the problems with Kuhse and Kamagate's fouls. I'm really very happy, Trapani is a team built to get to the end and we beat them with a "structured" victory. Another of the keys was to limit the talent of Robinson and Notae who then develop that of the others, in the first half we succeeded in parts, in the second always and this allowed us to control Trapani's returns. We always had the clarity to go and strike where we had an advantage. Here, if I have to mention a player I would mention Davide Denegri, who is a player who is approaching a new role for him with great sacrifice and application, he gave a great performance. But I could mention all the others in rotation as evidenced by our 20 assists, which as a figure underlines the predisposition of the players to pass the ball, one of those items that I often prefer when evaluating statistics. I wanted to thank our fans who came this far and also congratulate the Trapani crowd."
