Bertram is also beautiful in Europe: victory in the debut in the Champions League against NINERS Chemnitz
Bertram Derthona – NINERS Chemnitz 87-81
(22-17, 47-42, 68-60)
Scoreboards:
Bertram : Zerini, Vital 12, Kuhse 22, Gorham ne, Candi 2, Denegri 2, Strautins 16, Baldasso 5, Kamagate 14, Biligha 4, Severini 4, Weems 6. All. De Raffaele.
Chemnitz : Gregori ne, Uguak 1, Garrett 11, Richter 10, Christmas 9, Lansdowne 14, Bailey 4, Nkamhoua 19, Edigin, Tischler 6, Bedime ne, Johnson 7. All. Pastore.
Referees : Gedvilas (LTU), Manniste (EST), Jurcevic (CRO).
After the Italian one, Bertram's European campaign also opens with a success. At the PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris of Casale Monferrato, second victory in three days and also the Basketball Champions League opens with a smile for the black and whites. The team coached by Walter De Raffaele immediately takes home the two points in the standings in Group G against the reigning champions of the FIBA Europe Cup, the Germans of Niners Chemnitz, beaten 87-81 in their absolute debut in the BCL.
Gorham is on the scoresheet but still unusable due to the physical problem that had also caused him to miss his Serie A debut with Cremona three days earlier, but once again the Lions made up for his absence well, finding a way to stay ahead in the score for the vast majority of the time. Garrett and Nkamhoua are the ones who sign the only advantage of the match for the Germans (26-32 at 14'), soon sewn up by the Weems-Kamagate duo, with the points and assists of the Tortona co-captain and the blocks (5 at the end) and baskets of the French center to put together a 10-0 break to bring Tortona back ahead, 45-38, who had had in Kuhse the instigator of the +5 at the end of the first quarter, the same margin with which they went ahead at the long break, 47-42. In the third quarter Derthona and the fans light up together with Vital, an assist, a bomb, two free throws and a block by the American guard allow Baldasso's catch-and-shoot from over 7 meters to sign the first double-digit margin for the home team, 66-56 at 28'. Kuhse reaches 20 points with the 74-67 penetration in the 32', Chemnitz does not give up but also has to deal with Strautins, a factor throughout the fourth quarter, who favors the extension that seems to be able to put the result safe with 85-72 with 3' to go. Once again the Germans come back and lead to a sprint finish or almost, Uguak could have even brought his team to just one full possession but he misses the second free throw to make it 85-82 with 37" to go and it is once again the German small forward who flies on the counterattack and gets a block well beyond the rim by Weems who with 8" to go extinguishes any dream of a comeback by the guests together with the subsequent 2/2 free throws by Kuhse for the final +6.
The Champions League will return for Bertram in two weeks and again at home for the second matchday, on Tuesday 15 October at 20:30 their opponents will be the Spanish team BAXI Manresa, winners 92-64 at home against Benfica in their opening match.
STATEMENTS
Kyle Weems : “ I want to congratulate our team, our teammates, and the coaching staff for preparing for the game just two days after the championship game. I'm happy with the victory; every win is another step forward. Now we're looking forward .”
Coach Walter De Raffaele : “ First of all, congratulations to Chemnitz. They played a good game, as tough as we knew it would be. But we responded appropriately to their physicality, which is the key to competing at this level. Another very important victory, especially because our group is a new one, and winning helps us find the necessary cohesion .”
