Bertram falls in Sassari. Wednesday the big home match of the Champions League with Tenerife
Bank of Sardinia Sassari – Bertram Derthona Tortona 87-82
(20-16, 36-36, 57-57)
Sassari: Cappelletti 10, Bibbins 19, Weber 17, Casu ne, Trucchetti ne, Fobbs 19, Tambone 3, Veronesi 5, Bendzius 6, Vincini 4, Renfro 4, Gazi ne. All. Bulleri.
Tortona: Zerini, Vital 24, Kuhse 9, Gorham 13, Candi 5, Farias ne, Denegri, Baldasso 11, Kamagate 6, Biligha 3, Severini 7, Weems 4. Coach De Raffaele.
Referees: Lanzarini from Bologna, Dori from Mirano (VE), Valleriani from Ferentino (FR).
Bertram Derthona Tortona leaves PalaSerradimigni in Sassari defeated. The home team Banco di Sardegna wins 87-82 in the 26th matchday of the Unipol Serie A, confirming their excellent form, having reached their fifth consecutive victory. The third consecutive defeat in the championship, on the other hand, costs the Bianconeri the escape in the standings of Venezia, the direct competitor for eighth place that distances itself by two points, leaving Tortona alone in ninth place at 28 points, with the direct clash also in favor of the Venetians.
In Sardinia, the difference was made by the 10-0 immediately conceded at 72 all with four and a half minutes to go, a fast of points that lasted for over three minutes allowing Fobbs and Bibbins in particular to package the 82-72 that with 90 seconds left on the clock split a match that in some ways followed the trend of the midweek Champions League match in Tenerife: negative start, return to the game thanks to the second quintet, rest of the game played point by point even finding the overtaking in the second half, but what made the difference - compared to what happened in the Canaries - was that blackout in the final that did not allow them to play for the victory until the end.
The bad start of the game also allowed the opponents - deprived of Rashawn Thomas on the eve - to immediately fly to a maximum 13-point advantage (18-5 at 5'). The changes from the bench made it possible to recover the gap quite quickly, with the plays of Severini and the inspired Baldasso from beyond the arc sealing the tie at 27 at 14'. From there the contest developed on the edge of balance with Bertram finding the first overtaking halfway through the third quarter with the first outburst of the game by Kuhse, 45-48. Vital's triple also meant the maximum gap at 47-51 with three and a half minutes to play before the last mini-break, which came with the two teams tied as had already happened at the long break, 57-57 after the 36-36 at half time.
The first part of the fourth quarter is characterized by the back and forth between the two teams until the score is 72 all with 4'30” to go. It is the moment when Bertram's light goes out, several lost balls (15 at the end of the game) prevent them from trying to reach the basket while on the other side Fobbs and Bibbins build the 82-72 with 90” to go. In the very last seconds Tortona has a partial jolt, getting closer to -4 on 83-79 with -18”, too few to prevent the Sardinians from celebrating and strengthening their tenth place with 24 points.
In the championship, the next appointment is for Easter Saturday, April 19, with the away game at 19:15 at home to Nutribullet Treviso. First there will be the match to stay alive in the Champions League with the home Game-2 of the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 18:30 against La Laguna Tenerife, today defeated at home by 79-68 in the clash at the top of the Spanish championship with Real Madrid.
STATEMENTS "We had a soft impact, we were good at coming back, but the most obvious thing was that we didn't have the right energy from many players to impact the various situations of the match", is coach's comment Walter De Raffaele. "The match was balanced, but that lack of energy led to a lack of clarity, as often happens to us, and the 15 balls lost are really too many to win a match like this, which was decided in the last 3-4 minutes. Well done to Sassari for taking advantage of it and winning with merit. I repeat, unfortunately we pay for exactly a lack of clarity combined with a lack of energy. But above all, a lack of leadership often in the important moments of the matches".
