Victory for Fortitudo Bologna in Bertram's first test of the season
Flats Service Fortitudo Bologna – Bertram Derthona Tortona 75-65
(18-19, 37-37, 55-54)
Strength : Morris 15, Sarto 3, D'Arcangeli 2, Anumba, Zanelli 10, Guariglia 9, Sorokas 7, M. Moretti 7, Stazzonelli 4, Galassi 5, Radonjic 13, Campomori ne, Barbieri ne, Korlatovic. All. Cavina.
Derthona : Eboua 4, Hubb 5, Gorham 11, Pecchia 4, Dalla Cia ne, Di Meo 6, Vene 5, Wilkinson ne, Bortolani 11, Maddox 17, Gazzotti, Jallow 2. Coach Fioretti.
Referees : Tirozzi, Giunta, Petruzzi.
Flats Service Fortitudo Bologna won Bertram Derthona Tortona's first friendly match of the 2026-27 season. The Emilian team, led by former Tortona coach Demis Cavina, played their second preseason match, defeating Mario Fioretti's Juventus team 75-65 in a scrimmage played behind closed doors at the PalaBakery in Piacenza.
The match
Aljami Durham is unavailable for Bertram due to a muscle strain, while Dominik Olejniczak is out due to commitments with the Polish national team. Bologna is without Matteo Fantinelli and Valerio Mazzola.
Hubb, Maddox, Jallow, Gorham and Eboua make up the first starting five of the new season for the Lions, who went behind midway through the first quarter due to a 3/3 consecutive triple by Morris (2) and Radonjic but quickly recovered to take the lead with a 10-0 partial sealed by a dunk by Bortolani (14-9), with Di Meo's triple putting them ahead by one point in the opening quarter, 19-18.
The second period doesn't start well offensively for Derthona, with only 1 point scored in the first five minutes, but the team holds firm on defense and Gorham (11 points at halftime) is the player who sews up a small gap from -5, allowing three free throws by Bortolani at the buzzer to keep the score tied at 37 at halftime.
The start of the second half was marked by Maddox, who scored an 8-0 run to put Derthona back in the lead (45-42), Vene imitated him from beyond the arc, however it was Fortitudo who took the lead in the final quarter thanks to a triple by Sorokas almost at the end of the third period for Bologna to go up by 1, 55-54.
Guariglia's 5-0 run at the start of the final quarter marked the opponents' best moment because the 60-54 at 32' was the new maximum gap for the Emilians, touched up with three-pointers (12 in total for Bologna) by Radonjic and Galassi until the difference reached double digits with 2'30" to go, the 73-63 that effectively closed the match.
Bertram's next friendly match is on Wednesday, August 26th at 17:30 PM in the Cittadella dello Sport facility in Tortona against another Serie A2 team, Urania Milano.
Declarations
Coach Fioretti: "We played three quarters with good intensity, playing good basketball. In the final quarter, however, we struggled. We were never able to run the court, we made mistakes on defense, and we struggled to move the ball on offense. All of this led to our defeat. We're just getting started, we have a lot of work ahead of us. They were already on their second outing, so we need to keep going and work."
