First setback for Derthona, Trento wins 89-75
Dolomiti Energia Trentino – Bertram Derthona Tortona 89-75
(25-18, 44-38, 69-55)
Trento : Steward 19, Jones 19, Niang, Jogela 7, Forray, Cattapan NE, Mawugbe 10, Aldridge 9, Jakimovski 14, Bayehe 2, Fall NE, Hassan 9. Coach Cancellieri.
Tortona : Vital 19, Hubb 6, Gorham, Manjon 7, Pecchia 2, Chapman 2, Di Meo NE, Tandia NE, Baldasso 15, Olejniczak 12, Biligha 10, Riismaa 2. All. Fioretti.
Referees : Rossi from Arezzo, Borgo from Vicenza, Attard from Florence.
After two consecutive wins to open the season, away against Milan and at home against Treviso, Bertram Derthona Tortona suffered their first setback, losing 89-75 away at the BTS Arena, home of Massimo Cancellieri's Dolomiti Energia Trentino.
An uphill challenge from the start for Derthona, still without Arturs Strautins, in which the gap in rebounds (35-25) and the 14 turnovers are making themselves felt, in addition to the difficulty of attacking broken plays against Aquila.
DeVante' Jones and DJ Steward each scored 19 points for the home team; Vital (19 points and 6 assists), Baldasso (15 points), and Olejniczak (12 points and 6 rebounds) were the top scorers for the Lions. The Bianconeri's next match will see them face Trapani Sharks on Saturday, October 25th at 20:30 PM at home.
The story of the challenge against Trento
While Derthona found few offensive options at the start, with the exception of Olejniczak under the basket, Aquila Basket Trento went on a 14-4 run, interrupted by a three-pointer from Baldasso. The home team reached their maximum lead of 11 (24-13) after two perfect free throws by Jakimovski, while Hubb closed the first quarter with a three-pointer on the move by Djordjevic.
Biligha (10 points and 5 rebounds) opened the second quarter with a solo attack that ended with a dunk, while Baldasso once again scored from beyond the arc to reduce the deficit to 27-23. Bertram cut the deficit to within a single possession (31-29) with 4:56 left, but failed to capitalize and fell to a 13-4 run under Jones's shots before halftime, with Vital keeping Derthona afloat.
The Lions continued to struggle with their slow-tempo offense after halftime, with Trento once again leading by 10 (58-48) thanks to a three-pointer from Steward. Derthona struggled in the third quarter, lacking defensive adjustments and falling to a 18-pointer (69-51) deficit from the home team at the end of the third quarter on a layup by Jakimovski.
Six straight points from Biligha in the third and fourth quarters, along with Vital's usual contribution from beyond the arc, kept Derthona in the game, with Trento leading 71-62 with 7:19 to play. Back-to-back three-pointers from Aldridge and Steward restored Aquila's lead to 77-62 by 15 points; Bertram attempted another comeback attempt late in the game, but this last burst of pride wasn't enough.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ciamillo-Castoria
