A heart-stopping Sunday at Nova Arena: Sassari defeated 118-113
Bertram Derthona Tortona – Bank of Sardinia Sassari 118-113
(27-15, 47-32, 69-59, 88-88, 98-98)
Tortona: Vital 34, Hubb 4, Gorham 11, Pecchia 2, Chapman 7, Di Meo NE, Tandia NE, Strautins NE, Baldasso 30, Olejniczak 19, Biligha 8, Riismaa 3. All. Fioretti.
Sassari: Pullen 14, Marshall 23, Buie 25, Zanelli, Johnson 20, Ceron NE, Casu NE, Vincini 13, Mezzanotte 2, Thomas 4, McGlynn 4, Visconti 8. Coach Mrsic.
Referees: Bartoli of Trieste, Bongiorni of Pisa, Galasso of Siena.
An incredible match at the Nova Arena on the eleventh day of the championship, with Bertram Derthona Tortona defeating Banco di Sardegna Sassari 118-113 after two overtimes, led by the extraordinary shooting performances of Tommaso Baldasso (30 points with 8-for-8 free throws) and Christian Vital (34 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 16-for-16 free throws), both of whom were career highs in the Italian championship.
A rollercoaster Sunday against Sassari
The Bianconeri got off to a promising start, taking a 9-2 lead after just a few minutes. Sassari responded with bursts of energy from Carlos Marshall and Nate Johnson, but Mario Fioretti's team maintained control in the first quarter, reaching a 9-point lead (21-12) with 3:02 left on the clock thanks to seven straight points from Justin Gorham (11 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists). After ten minutes of play, Bertram led 27-15 against the Sardinians.
Banco di Sardegna re-entered the game at the start of the second quarter, but the blue-and-whites' surge of pride didn't last. Derthona ran on a 16-4 run that put the black-and-whites away, with excellent contributions coming off the bench from Paul Biligha (8 points and 6 rebounds) and a surging Brekkott Chapman (7 points and 8 rebounds). Despite three personal fouls from Andrea Pecchia and Joonas Riismaa, Bertram held on and maintained a 47-32 lead.
The second half started positively for the Bianconeri: with 7:04 left in the third quarter, Dominik Olejniczak (19 points and 9 rebounds) added a 20-point lead (54-34) for Bertram. The second half of the quarter, however, was all in the white-and-blues' hands: Veljko Mrsic's team was led by Desure Buie's solo efforts, closing the gap to 10 points (69-59) with ten minutes to play.
Buie continued his streak at the start of the fourth quarter with a glacial 3+1, before Marshall's counterattack dunk brought the score to 69-65. Christian Vital then scored from beyond the arc to interrupt Dinamo's run, but the team didn't give up and took the lead at 78-80 with four minutes remaining.
The final minutes were a constant head-to-head, with the two teams chasing each other: Vital made 3-for-3 free throws with 60 seconds left, putting Bertram ahead 88-86, while Johnson missed a jumper to tie the game at the end. A turnover by the Bianconeri's number 1, however, gave way to Riccardo Visconti's fast break, making it 88-88 with 11 seconds left in overtime.
Overtime saw the two teams tied at 90-90 for a full two minutes, before Pecchia broke the deadlock at the free throw line with 2:40 left. Dinamo reached the decisive moments with a one-possession lead, but Baldasso fired a corner shot to make it 98-98, sending the game into a second overtime. In the second overtime, Visconti and Vital both hit clutch shots, while Pullen missed both free throws with 2:25 left.
Captain Baldasso plays heroic, scoring again from long range to make it 107-103, but the heart-pounding Sunday isn't over yet. Pullen fires from beyond the arc and is fouled by Gorham, but misses the free throw to tie the score at 109-109. Captain Baldasso doesn't miss, making two of two with the clock stopped to make it 113-110 with 14 seconds left in the second overtime.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ciamillo-Castoria
