Bertram comes close to record comeback, Bowman saves Treviso in sprint
Nutribullet Treviso – Bertram Derthona 92-91
(25-20, 58-42, 77-59)
Treviso: Bowman 31, Harrison ne, Torresani 2, Mascolo 3, Mazzola 3, Mezzanotte 4, Caroline ne, Pellegrino 8, Olisevicius 25, Paulicap 7, Spinazze ne, Macura 9. Coach Vitucci.
Tortona: Zerini 4, Vital 16, Kuhse 9, Gorham 11, Candi 4, Denegri 13, Baldasso 16, Kamagate 6, Biligha 4, Severini 6, Diodati ne, Weems 2. Coach De Raffaele.
Referees: Giovannetti from Bari, Bettini from Bologna, Nicolini from Bagheria (PA).
From -26 in the third quarter to the overtaking with 31 seconds left in the game, after an anthology fourth period with 9 three-pointers made and a 32-15 win. It would have been a comeback to write in the book of the most beautiful memories of Bertram Derthona Tortona, the one staged on the Nutribullet Treviso field in the 27th day of the Serie A Unipol. But in the most dramatic moment, the Treviso team relied, as they did throughout the game, on the talent of their star player Ky Bowman, the author of the three-pointer that at 13” gave the Venetians the lead back to 92-91, a result that Bertram never overturned again due to the error on the stop and shot at the buzzer by Davide Denegri. The same player who a few seconds earlier, in the wake of the triples in rapid succession by the unstoppable Tommaso Baldasso (4/6 in the final period, 5/10 in total), had made the Bianconeri scream with joy with the two bombs of the return to -1 at -48” and of the 89-91 that had put them ahead after an entire game spent chasing an exaggerated disadvantage.
The final-mockery brings the fourth consecutive in the championship, making the playoff chase even more complicated with three rounds to go with Tortona remaining in ninth place in the standings with 28 points. But once again the black and white group has shown that it never wants to give up. In particular the quintet of Italians, Candi, Denegri, Baldasso, Severini and Zerini, author of the amazing comeback between the two final quarters, initially marked by a 13-0 break to begin to erode (77-66 at 32') the enormous margin of the home team - starting with the 33-22 of the second partial (58-42 at half time) and reaching its maximum peak at 76-50 in the 26' after a basket by the former Macura - and continued with the usual magic of shots from beyond the arc by Tommaso Baldasso to completely reopen the game with just over two minutes to play (86-82). The returning Vital also joined the festival of Tortona triples (14/32 the final count) for 86-85 at -1'47", Bowman found the miracle with the three-point basket off balance at the end of the 24" that seemed to be able to give the ball back to Treviso, 89-85 at -1'14". Two consecutive losses by the Venetians, however, were punished by Denegri in the best possible way with the two bombs that led to the overtaking. Then the umpteenth climb to the chair by Bowman and the error by Denegri made them shelve the dreams of a victory that would have been sensational considering how the game had gone.
Treviso finds the two points of mathematical salvation confirming itself as Derthona's bête noire with the seventh joy in eight games in the top tournament, Bowman and Olisevicius the standard-bearers of success with 56 points in pair. For Bertram the heroic Italian quintet found in Baldasso (12 points in the fourth quarter) and Denegri the offensive finishers who garnered applause, with the other compatriots supporting them in trying the feat that was missed by a hair's breadth.
In the next round, a big home match against EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, scheduled for Sunday 27 April at 17:30 at the PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris in Casale Monferrato.
STATEMENTS “A game with two faces, the first twenty minutes of a very low level from our side both in terms of energy and attitude, then a third period finale and the whole fourth quarter of great depth from our Italian group.", is the comment of the coach Walter De Raffaele. “We had a chance to win, we made a fatal mistake on Bowman’s last bomb at +2, then we missed a good shot at the end but nothing to complain about towards those who finished the game and especially towards those who had brought us back, showing what we have to do. We continue to fight with what are our weapons, a group that has shown that they care”.
