Bertram comes back and believes, but the ending rewards Brescia: the Final Eight ends in the quarterfinals
Germani Brescia – Bertram Derthona Tortona 86-79
(24-21, 42-33, 62-60)
Brescia: Bilan 8, Ferrero N/A, Dowe 4, Della Valle 20, Ndour 7, Burnell 17, Tonelli N/A, Ivanovic 20, Mobio 2, Rivers 5, Cournooh 3, Pollini N/A. Coach Poeta
Tortona: Zerini, Vital 17, Kuhse 10, Gorham 12, Candi 13, Farias ne, Denegri, Baldasso 11, Kamagate, Biligha 4, Severini, Weems 12. Coach De Raffaele.
Referees: Lanzarini of Bologna, Paternicò of Piazza Armerina (EN), Valleriani of Ferentino (FR).
Bertram Derthona Tortona exits the Frecciarossa Final Eight of the Italian Cup. Against Germani Brescia, the tournament's top seed, the black and white team's excellent comeback in the second half after a first half that had seen the Lombards escape up to a maximum of +14 was not enough, nor was it enough to show up in the lead and with the inertia turned in their favor at the dawn of the final five minutes. Still ahead by two points with just over a minute and a half to go, Tortona pays for the subsequent partial of 7-0 branded by Burnell and Ivanovic and says goodbye to the Cup by losing the quarter-final that opened the event at the Inalpi Arena in Turin by 86-79.
Candi's advancement in the role of starting point guard brings beneficial effects to the start of the match for the Lions, his 4 immediate points seasoned with a defensive recovery and an assist allow, coupled with the baskets of Weems, to quickly reach a double digit advantage, 3-13 in less than 4'. Biligha closes the way of the iron to the Brescians with 3 blocks, Germani does not get depressed and dragged by the points of Della Valle (11 in the first quarter) not only reduces the gap but also overtakes before the end of the period (22-21). The second quarter is almost entirely of Lombardy, Rivers, Ndour and Burnell break through the defense under the direction of Ivanovic and a 12-0 partial materializes that launches Brescia on the run (37-23 at 16'). Baldasso's triple at the final buzzer makes the first half end with greater optimism, at half-time it's 42-33 Brescia.
At the start of the second half, Candi takes the stage again (3/3 from three, 5 assists, the best of the team in terms of rating with 16 in 18'), two triples by him and Gorham begin to change the direction of the challenge for Tortona, who also finds the first chances from Kuhse to go to the sprint of the final ten minutes just 2 lengths behind, 62-60. The fourth period gives Bertram the illusion, Weems finds the basket to tie at 62 and Baldasso exalts it even more with two bombs to certify that Tortona is there, 64-68 at 33'. It is Ivanovic and Burnell who give Brescia the jolt (73 all with the American's triple at -2'30"), Gorham puts the nose ahead again with a powerful semi-hook for 75-77 at -1'35". It is the last moment of joy, Burnell's triple, Kuhse's error from the arc on the other side and Ivanovic's wild card from far away on the buzzer give the ball back to Brescia, 81-77 at -42". Burnell's block on Gorham's attempt, with the subsequent foul exploited with two free throws made by Burnell himself, ends Tortona's desire to close the negative period with 34 seconds to go.
STATEMENTS “Congratulations to my players, they played a top-level match against a great team that with its talent managed to take home the victory in the end.”, the coach's words at the end of the matches De Raffaele. "We are in a moment of technical difficulty but the team has found resources from players who are usually not protagonists and, above all, after the last match with Bologna it was not easy. The group has shown to be very united. We could have won it but once again it slipped away from us, due to small errors in the defensive phase. Unfortunately we do not have a recognized leadership and this becomes a major problem in the final point to point. However, I cannot hide my doubts about the evaluation of some situations, in a do or die match every whistle counts, I intend to watch the match again because they do not want to talk nonsense, but the protagonists must always be the players. There is no desire to cry, but I want to review some evaluations carefully. From this challenge - he concludes - I take the great temperament of the team, the ability to play with different quintets, the protagonism of the Italian group. We are still protagonists in the championship and Champions League, but this does not make the disappointment any less”.
