Coach Ramondino and Garri present the match against Siena
Championship eve for Bertram Derthona, awaited by Siena in the first day of the return leg of the West Group of the Serie A2 Old Wild West championship. This week, the Bianconeri announced the arrivals of Bertone and Lydeka, two players who have "a high level of experience and excellent knowledge of the game. Both ," coach Ramondino began, " arrived in good physical condition and can contribute starting from the match against Siena. We believe we have identified the players who can help us take another step forward: Bertone can create advantages and allow us to play at a higher pace as well as being less predictable, while Lydeka gives us solidity and a significant presence near the basket. In the A2 championship, she can also be a factor offensively ."
Bertram is coming off three consecutive defeats, the last of which, against Bergamo, came only after overtime. The performance against the league leaders showed improvements from the Bianconeri, who " have worked with great dedication and seriousness over the last three weeks. The results aren't what we expected ," coach Ramondino continued, " but at least we've found some consistency and are more consistent defensively. Today we need to be good at taking the final, difficult step: matching good performances with results . "
Moving on to analyze their upcoming opponents, the Juventus coach believes that "Siena is a team that's good at playing at speed, with two players like Marino and Morais who are devastating in the open court. They have a versatile setup, thanks to big men who know how to play face-to-the-basket and open up the court very well. Furthermore, especially at home, they are adept at getting their so-called gregari to contribute significantly in terms of rebounds, steals, and defensive impact ."
The Tuscans are ahead of Derthona in the standings and have five more points than the Bianconeri: for this reason, tomorrow's match becomes "very important, even if any result will have to be contextualized, on our part, in a search for consistency in results necessary to overcome the current situation in the standings ." Among the keys to the match, coach Ramondino identifies "our ability to play well against their defensive changes, finding a good offensive rhythm, and being good at closing down the area without sacrificing defense on their shooters ."
Luca Garri said: "The arrivals of Bertone and Lydeka this week have brought us great enthusiasm and a boost of energy that can only do us good. Looking ahead to the next match against Siena, we must build on the many good things we showed against Bergamo, against which we only lacked a final push. Mens Sana is a team that can count on significant home advantage and has Morais and Pacher as key players, as well as a core of experienced Italians capable of excelling, especially at home. It will be a decisive match because Siena is above us in the standings, and a victory against them would allow us to close the gap and take us a step closer to leaving the playout zone ."
