Trento arrives in Tortona: "We want to make our home fans happy."
Bertram Derthona Tortona returns home and hosts Dolomiti Energia Trentino in Round 26 of the LBA Serie A Unipol, scheduled for Sunday, April 12th at 18:00 PM, live on LBATV.
How do the two teams arrive?
The team coached by Mario Fioretti will be looking to bounce back after two consecutive defeats away from home, first against Openjobmetis Varese and then against Nutribullet Treviso Basket.
In Round 25 of LBA Serie A Unipol, the Bianconeri fell 91-86 at the PalaVerde against Marcelo Nicola's team despite Christian Vital's 16 points.
After their European season ended with a one-off defeat to Besiktas in the EuroCup Quarterfinals, Massimo Cancellieri's Trento is focusing exclusively on the league.
The Trentino team, who rested last weekend, are coming off a last league match in which they defeated Reyer Venezia 106-87 far from its own walls.
The first half of the season's match against Trento
The match against Trento in the first half of the season was equivalent to the first setback of the season for Bertram, who came out with a defeat for 89-75 from the BTS Arena.
The point of Iacopo Squarcina
As usual, the challenge is presented by one of Mario Fioretti's assistants. "What we need to do is improve defensively, especially in terms of individual toughness. Trento is very similar to Varese and Treviso in terms of the many unpredictable situations they create from 1-on-1 situations and possessions in the opening seconds. We'll have to be very focused on that," says Iacopo Squarcina.
"The important thing is that individual responsibility is accompanied by team defense, with mutual help. It's important to support a teammate with defensive positioning, with extra help... all those little things that make a difference in improving the defensive impact. Offensively, we'll have to be good against their aggressiveness on screens and pick-and-rolls," he adds.
"Trento is a team that has seen great growth recently, as you could see in the EuroCup. A very young team on the bench, aside from Toto Forray, with [Cheickh] Niang, [Patrick] Hassan, [Andrej] Jakimovski. A team that has grown, capable of excelling when things are going very well. We'll have to be good at not letting them excel," Squarcina continues on Trento.
“They have two very high-level, highly skilled players in [DeVante] Jones and [DJ] Steward, plus a creator in [Matas] Jogela, who's very good at using pick-and-rolls. He's shooting with great confidence, over 40% from three in his last four, and he's averaging 17 points: a public enemy in that regard,” he adds.
"Along with the unpredictability of [Khalif] Battle off the bench, who definitely adds talent and scoring ability. They have a significant rebounding impact with all the wings; Jakimovski and [Peyton] Aldridge join the athleticism of the centers. They have a great variety of solutions: we'll have to be very good at neutralizing all their potential advantages and be even more united, even more of a team to come out of these two losses and make our fans happy at home. That's something we're missing."
General Manager Gianmaria Vacirca visits Valencia Basket
In the week leading up to the match against Trento, Derthona Basket would like to thank Valencia Basket for the hospitality extended to general manager Gianmaria Vacirca this week. The Juventus manager is back from five days of experiencing the Valencian club's state-of-the-art facilities firsthand, starting with the newly built Roig Arena, an absolute gem of the club's sports facilities.
“It was an incredibly enriching professional experience, starting with the spaces, the pathways, and the daily life of those who experience the Roig Arena every day. This facility was built—after years of study and visits to the best examples in the world—with a focus on the team and its needs,” he said.
“Thank you to Luis Arbalejo and Victor Luengo for allowing me to live this incredible experience within a club that has raised the bar to an incredibly high level, from which I can draw inspiration, guidance, and guidance, knowing that in Tortona we have a similar treasure in terms of vision, ambition, and commitment.”
“Yes, because looking at this incredible thing in Valencia, we realize even more the extraordinary nature of the Gavio family's project for the territory, and it's up to us to do our best, learning from the best,” added Vacirca.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ciamillo-Castoria Agency)
