Udine prevents Derthona from recovering in the league: victory for the home team at the PalaCarnera
Old Wild West Udine – Bertram Derthona Tortona 86-77
(19-14, 40-33, 57-53)
Udine : Mobio 4, Spencer 4, Sisko 14, Bjedov ne, Bucarelli 3, Bendzius 12, Battle 16, McGlynn 9, Grassi ne, Calzavara 18, Cavallero 2, Valentine 4. Coach Vertemati.
Derthona : Eboua 1, Hubb 5, Gorham 9, Pecchia, A. Alibegovic 5, Di Meo ne, Bortolani 10, Olejniczak 7, Maddox 28, Gazzotti ne, Jallow 2, Durham 10. Coach Fioretti.
Referees : BM Attard, Noce, Patti.
Bertram Derthona Tortona's championship season is struggling to get going at the PalaCarnera. Hosts Old Wild West Udine won the sixth matchday of the LBA Serie A SisalClub 86-77, forcing the Bianconeri Lions to record their fifth straight defeat in the top-flight tournament. On Derthona Basket's 71st birthday, Dante Maddox's 28 points (7-of-8 two-pointers, 4-of-6 three-pointers, and his impressive field goal) weren't enough to deliver the desired result. A five-point lead late in the third quarter was the most consistent advantage in a game in which Udine led for most of the game and sealed the victory in the final four minutes with three three-pointers that definitively put the game away.
The match
Bertram tried to impose a frenetic pace early in the game, with starting big men Olejniczak and Gorham taking the lead in attack in the opening half of the first quarter, with both teams scoring little (4-8 after 5 minutes). Udine turned things around with an 8-0 run a couple of minutes later, and maintained the lead at the first buzzer with two late long-range baskets by Calzavara and Sisko, 19-14.
The Friulians continued their run in the best possible way upon their return to the court, with another run, this time 7-0, thanks to Battle's 2+1 and baskets by Bendzius and Sisko, who broke away beyond the double-digit margin at 26-14 after just 1'20" of the second period. Alibegovic broke the negative streak with Bertram's first triple of the match, while Eboua battled between rebounds and fouls and, with an effective offensive block, also facilitated Maddox's drive, which led to the home team's first timeout, 28-20 at the 14th minute. The American guard took inspiration from the previous basket to start a frenzy with two triples and a block on opposing center Spencer to bring Tortona back within 30-26 midway through the second quarter, and another winning initiative by Maddox (13 points, 3/4 from three in the first half) set the -7 with which the visiting Bianconeri went into the locker room for the first timeout. halftime, 40-33.
Durham went on a rampage early in the second half, scoring all eight of Derthona's first points, allowing Gorham's basket in the paint to bring Bertram into close contact and then, thanks to a defensive comeback by Maddox and a fastbreak dunk of his own, to tie the score at 45-45 in the 24th minute. Maddox was increasingly unstoppable, and his three-pointer off the dribble put the score back in front exactly halfway through the period, 46-48, with Gorham providing further energy on the rebounds (nine at the end) and Jallow extending the visitors' lead to their largest of the game, 47-52 in the 27th minute. Udine didn't suffer any further damage, with an 8-0 counterbreak run by Sisko and Calzavara putting Old Wild West back in front (55-52), who also closed the third quarter ahead, 57-53.
A new burst of energy from Udinese means another Friulian escape at the start of the final sprint, Battle's basket from beyond the arc gives the +8 on 65-57 in the 33rd minute, Maddox after yet another magic, this time on the drive, scores and is fouled (65-59) suffering a blow that causes the former MVP of the Belgian-Dutch championship to lose blood from his face, forced to leave the court momentarily only to return a few moments later. With 4 minutes left, Udine was still ahead, even if only by 4 (72-68), but then came the final acceleration from Friuli with a series of three-pointers: two very important ones from Battle and Bendzius made it 78-68 with exactly 3 minutes left, and luck also helped Bendzius with a daring three-pointer off the scoreboard at the end of the 24-second shot clock for an 81-68 score that closed the game with just over two minutes left on the clock.
In the league, Derthona will face Nutribullet Treviso at home on Sunday 8 November at 17:30 pm, a match preceded on Wednesday 4 by an away match in the BKT EuroCup on the pitch of Cedevita Olimpija Lubiana.
The statements
Coach Mario Fioretti: "We played a first half where we tried hard defensively, but overall we made mistakes and struggled offensively to convert good plays into baskets. We started the third quarter very strong, going up by five, but after we got the run, we immediately had a terrible fourth quarter on defense, unable to get any consecutive stops. We went down without giving up, but in that final quarter, where we were under-rebounded and out-of-bounds, we made an incredible run from that five-point lead."
We can get through this difficult period by working hard. We're alternating performances in the EuroCup with those in Serie A. In the league, we're never able to close out games; even against Napoli last Sunday, we had the last crucial possession. We need to focus on being tougher at certain points in the game, and we need to get back on our feet in the league next Sunday.
(PHOTOCREDIT: CIAMILLO-CASTORIA AGENCY)
