Napoli wins in a sprint: at the Nova Arena they beat Bertram 92-90
Bertram Derthona Tortona – Napoli Basketball 90-92
(26-19, 47-41, 64-67)
Derthona : Eboua 8, Hubb 15, Gorham 7, Pecchia, A. Alibegovic 5, Di Meo ne, Bortolani 23, Olejniczak 11, Maddox 3, Gazzotti ne, Jallow 12, Durham 6. Coach Fioretti.
Napoli : Spissu 11, Seljaas 9, Dowtin 10, Ferrara ne, Faggian 2, Petrucelli 10, Sankare, White 10, Brown 12, Tarczewski 2, Caruso 13, Ramsey 13. All. Repesa.
Referees : Giovannetti, Bongiorni, Cassina.
Spectators : 2.656
Bertram Derthona Tortona's chance to continue their pursuit of a precious victory over Napoli Basketball was shattered on the rim on a final shot. Bortolani's floater missed the basket on the very last play to send the game to overtime, and Napoli prevailed 92-90 at the Nova Arena on Matchday 5 of the LBA Serie A SisalClub. The former Cantù guard—the game's top scorer with 23 points—had been the driving force behind the comeback, along with Jallow (7 rebounds, 8 fouls drawn, 10-of-13 free throws, 20 rating) after Napoli had escaped late in the fourth quarter, in a game that had otherwise largely been spent chasing Derthona, who had led by 16 points in their excellent first half, ending with a 6-point lead that was not indicative of the first half's performance in favor of the Bianconeri. Napoli improved their shooting from outside (13/26 from three) to confirm their amazing start to the season.
The match
Derthona got off to a favorable start, searching for numerous options under the basket. This scheme paid off with an 11-4 run, and Durham added the finishing touch from outside with his second three-pointer, quickly building a double-digit lead at 14-4, forcing coach Repesa to call a timeout after four minutes. Two free throws from Eboua and a mid-range jumper from Alibegovic further extended the lead to 21-7 at the 8th minute. Pairs of three-pointers from Seljaas and Spissu allowed Napoli to head into the first break with a much more manageable deficit, 26-19.
The Campanians tried to close the gap even further but were held back by two three-pointers, one from Bortolani and one from Hubb (32-21), which Spissu responded to on the other end. Bortolani put the hosts back on track with a 5-0 run to restore the lead to double digits, and when the Juventus guard missed, Olejniczak tapped in to equalize the gap midway through the quarter. Maddox then added another 16-pointer from the free throw line, 44-28 in the 16th minute, with the Neapolitans also forced to use very low percentages on the other end of the court. Those percentages suddenly rose thanks to Dowtin, Seljaas, and Ramsey, the key contributors to the 13-3 run that allowed Napoli to close the first half with an unexpected six-point deficit, 47-41.
Napoli's comeback continued even after returning to the court, three free throws by Jallow seemed to give Tortona a breath of fresh air at the halfway point of the third quarter, 59-51, but Derthona had to deal with 4 fouls by Durham and Gorham and a new break by the opponents that brought Napoli to parity with Petrucelli (62-62) and shortly after to the overtaking with free throws by Faggian, 62-64 in the 28th minute.
Caruso suddenly took center stage between the final two quarters, scoring seven points in a row to give Napoli its first lead a minute and a half into the final quarter, 66-73, thanks in part to a 1-for-11 three-pointer by the Bianconeri in the third quarter, which ended at 64-67. The Napoli big man was fouled out by five times on yet another solid defense by Jallow, and the unstoppable German from Tortona made two free throws, reviving the Nova Arena's cheering, making it 76-78 with exactly five minutes to go. The game unfolded in a flurry of excitement. Dowtin hit a three-pointer, Bortolani followed suit at the other end (80-81 with 3:40 remaining), and before exiting the court due to a foul limit, Ramsey found another three-pointer for Napoli (82-86 with 2:40 remaining). Tortona's attack increasingly relied on the Bortolani-Jallow duo, whose three-point play brought Derthona back into close contact at 87-88 with 1'50" remaining. The back-and-forth battle continued, with Brown's three-pointer (13 of 26 from three for Naples) being answered by Bortolani's usual three, making it 90-91 with 80" left. The score remained steady until 9" left, when White made 1/2 from the free throw line, giving Bertram one last chance, but Bortolani's shot was blocked by the rim.
Bertram suffers their fourth consecutive league defeat, while Napoli resumes their run after their only defeat of the season against Milan, climbing to eight points.
Derthona is preparing to return to the league after two consecutive home games. On Sunday, November 1st, they face Old Wild West Udine at 5:00 PM. This match will be preceded on Wednesday, October 28th at 7:30 PM by the last of the current four-game home series, the BKT EuroCup match against the German team Rostock Seawolves.
The statements
Coach Mario Fioretti: "We had a very positive first 15 minutes, both offensively and defensively, playing very well together; honestly, we were completely in control. We struggled in the final 5 minutes of the second quarter, making a lot of defensive mistakes and allowing a lot of easy shots. Then the game became a point-by-point affair; we fell behind a bit but never gave up, fighting until the last possession. It's a game we're all disappointed to lose, because we've made progress, so winning a game like that would have sparked even more excitement."
We need to get back to work after such a close defeat, but we'll be back on Wednesday against Rostock to put in a good performance and be more consistent than we were today. Congratulations, of course, to Napoli. They're a very strong, well-coached team—I don't need me to say it—they played a game of character. Even when they went 16 points down, they had the mental strength to come back.
(PHOTOCREDIT: DERTHONA BASKET)
