Virtus Bologna hosts Derthona: "Not all games are the same."
After the home victory over Dolomiti Energia Trentino that secured early and mathematical qualification for the LBA Serie A Unipol playoffs, Bertram Derthona Tortona returns to the field in front of their fans at the Nova Arena against Virtus Olidata Bologna, the reigning Italian champions.
The match, valid for Round 27 of the Regular Season and scheduled for Sunday, April 19th at 16:00 PM, will be broadcast live on LBATV, Sky Sport Basket (channel 205), and Cielo (channel 26 on digital terrestrial). Before the tip-off, a minute of silence will be observed in memory of Oscar Schmidt, a global basketball legend who passed away yesterday at the age of 68.
How do the two teams arrive?
Coming off two consecutive away defeats against Openjobmetis Varese and Nutribullet Treviso Basket, Mario Fioretti's team responded in the best possible way last week.
After forty minutes in control, the black and whites defeated Trento 103-84 with excellent performances by Tommaso Baldasso (19 points) and Paul Biligha (17 points with 8/8 from the field).
The team led by Nenad Jakovljevic, first in the standings with a 19-5 record tied with Germani Brescia, is coming off an 89-79 victory against Pallacanestro Cantù.
The reigning Italian champions are currently fourth in average points (86.1) and first in assists (20.3) per game among all teams in the LBA Serie A Unipol championship.
The first-round match against Virtus Bologna
On the Virtus Arena court, Derthona was defeated 92-77 by the black and whites of Bologna despite the 14 points of Christian Vital and the 12 points of Dominik Olejniczak.
Bertram's revenge, however, came in the semi-finals of the Frecciarossa Final Eight 2026, where Mario Fioretti's men won 84-78 to secure a spot in the Final in Turin.
Andrea Vicenzutto's point
As usual, the match is introduced by one of Mario Fioretti's assistants. "Not all games are the same. Playing against opponents with great moments in Italian basketball history behind them is always a source of pride and excitement," says Andrea Vicenzutto of Virtus Bologna.
"Doing it at the Nova Arena helps, because we give our best at home. I expect a match similar to the one against Trento, where the energy level and focus are as high as possible, because that's a prerequisite for playing against talent and physicality of that kind."
"There are no great recipes when playing against players of the caliber of [Carsen] Edwards, [Matt] Morgan, and [Derrick] Alston, among others. The only key is to be as focused as possible, giving 100% on every single possession, defensively and offensively," continues the Juventus assistant.
"Thinking back to the Opening Game almost brings to mind a distant memory. It seems like a really long time ago, but in the end, we're talking about not so many months ago. The truth is that the team has matured a lot in this period," Vicenzutto recalls at the inaugural game against Virtus.
“We've been through good times and difficult times, but I think one of the things we're all proud of is seeing, day after day, the ability the boys have developed in working together and in how they approach every working day, every challenging moment and every difficult moment in matches.”
"Strengthening relationships like this and the ability to stay together like this, staying united even when things aren't easy, ultimately makes the difference between good and bad seasons. We're really happy about this," continues Mario Fioretti's assistant, before focusing on the latest victory against Trento.
"After the two away games, what we asked of the boys was very simple. Since the common denominator of the two defeats was defensive performances that weren't impactful in terms of physicality and approach, we wanted exactly the opposite," he comments.
"The boys did well in this regard. The game against Trento was different; the energy and focus we showed against a truly dangerous opponent were different. This allowed us to stay ahead for almost the entire match, pulling away towards the end. The boys did well in interpreting what was our fundamental request," concludes Vicenzutto.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ciamillo-Castoria Agency)
