Derthona leads from the start, extends in the second half and beats Cremona
Bertram Derthona-Vanoli Cremona 87-76
(20-18, 41-36, 66-55)
Scoreboards:
Derthona: Zerini, Ross 15, Dowe 2, Candi, Tavernelli ne, Strautinš 7, Baldasso 12, Kamagate 8, Severini 14, Obasohan 14, Weems 12, Thomas 3. Coach De Raffaele
Cremona: Eboua 1, Adrian 11, Davis 13, Pecchia 6, Denegri 10, Lacey 9, Piccoli 3, McCullough 10, Golden 10, Zanotti 3. Coach Cavina
Seventh consecutive victory at PalaEnergica for Bertram Derthona, who lead against Vanoli Cremona from the tap-off, progressively extending their margin over the course of the forty minutes. After a balanced first half, in the second half the Bianconeri made decisive breaks to win the two points.
Bertram's start to the match: the defensive attention and the fast offensive gusts led by Ross push Derthona to +10 (20-10) after 6 minutes. The expulsion of coach Cavina - due to technical fouls - leads to the guest's reaction which ends the half with a 0-8: at 10' it is 20-18. In the second quarter the match was made up of partials, generated by three-point baskets, with the team coached by De Raffaele always maintaining the lead: at half-time the score was 41-36, sealed by Ross' triple.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, Cremona scored at 43 with Adrian's shot from outside, but then Derthona scored a 10-0 which earned them a new lead in the 25th minute. Bertram then rejected all attempts to return by Cremona, led by Obasohan (13 points in the half), and finished ahead 66-55 after thirty minutes. In the final period, the Lions managed the accumulated margin, found good collective offensive solutions and won 87-76.
So the President Marco Picchi at the end of the race: “I want to wish a peaceful Easter to all our fans, and I want to thank them because we are at the seventh consecutive victory at home. This has become a hot pitch, thanks to our fans, who we ask for an effort because they are very important to us. Tonight we achieved mathematical salvation, this is a difficult championship and tonight's match proves it: Cremona plays very well and never gives up, demonstrating that there are no obvious matches. Winning eight of the last eleven games is a huge credit to this group and these guys, as it wasn't a given. A particular piece of credit goes to the coach, who I have gotten to know better on and off the field in recent months: it is right, for my part, to underline the merits of coach De Raffaele and his staff, bringing us back to the ranking positions we want to be in . In the next few hours we will formalize the agreement that will bind us to our head coach for a long time: a choice shared with our owner, Doctor Gavio, who like that of Strautinš wants to bear witness to the ambitions of this Club. Doctor Gavio allows us, with passion and foresight, to plan our future, and embracing the technical project led by Walter De Raffaele is the clear choice of what our Club wants to do".
So coach Walter De Raffaele at the end of the race: “I join in wishing a happy Easter and good health to all the fans. I want to thank President Picchi for his words, because it was a three-month ride in which everyone, in front and behind the scenes, contributed. Ours is a very pure group, in which we decided not to make changes but to fix some roles, like Obasoha. I also thank Doctor Gavio and Ferencz Bartocci, because having the trust of a Club that wants to plan is important. We want to try to be protagonists until the end in all the competitions we will compete in in the future. The best thing about tonight is having had so many different protagonists during the match: this is the most important element, certainly combined with a defensive attitude that we always try to develop to the maximum. The players and the group are there, having different protagonists in rotation in a match against such a tough team, in which we produced 22 assists, is the essence of being a team that I have tried to do since my arrival".
