
Bertram has the Cup in mind: against Scafati it's mission Final Eight. The words of coach De Raffaele
Having settled the Champions League Play-In issue in a positive way, at least for the opening act of the series, Bertram Derthona must hit the other crucial goal of the week, this time in the league. After the 1-0 European win over Peristeri, they must earn the pass to the Coppa Italia Final Eight in the home match against Givova Scafati, scheduled for tomorrow at 19:30 at the PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris in Casale Monferrato for the 15th and final day of the first leg of the Unipol Serie A.
FINAL EIGHT The challenge will define the picture of the eight qualified for the tricolor kermesse in Turin, for which there is only one free place left with Tortona competing with Treviso: with the victory the qualification would be safe from any attempt of assault the day after by the Treviso, two points behind in the standings but with the direct clash that would reward them in case of victory in their match in Varese and previous defeat of the Tortona. This is the only combination of results that would prevent Bertram from making a double at the Inalpi Arena in Turin with the already certified presence of Autosped G BCC Derthona in the Final Four of the women's Serie A1. With the possible victory number ninth, Severini and his teammates would secure a position in the Coppa Italia grid that can vary between sixth, seventh and eighth based on the results of the other teams that would compete with them for these placements, Milan, Reggio Emilia and Trieste.
THE EXES The match coincides with the first return as opponents of the new Scafatese coach Marco Ramondino and his assistant Gianmarco Di Matteo, who will make their debut on the bench of the Campania team at the home of the club with which they won a Supercoppa LNP and the historic promotion to Serie A after taking over from Damiano Pilot during the week. Also on the field will be a former Derthona player, Paulius Sorokas, among the winners of the 2018 Coppa Italia LNP of the Bianconeri. Above all, Tortona will find an opponent recovering from the fresh wound of the home defeat in overtime against Trieste (107-110) and in need of a victory due to the only two points of advantage over the relegation zone.
MATCH SPONSORS Giudici SpA will be the match sponsor of the challenge with Scafati. The road and building construction company from Rogno (BG) is also the title sponsor for the second consecutive year of the Hospitality Hall of the PalaEnergica.
STATEMENTS “Scafati is a team that scores 90 points per game, it has many players who can score in many ways, so it will be very important to have a defensive presence, especially on the characteristics of the players, also because on the game situations, with a new coach having arrived, there will perhaps be different ones.”, is the beginning of the coach's pre-match commentary Walter De Raffaele. “I believe that the difference, when the game counts, is always in knowing the characteristics of the opponents in a more in-depth way. In this sense, both for the close commitments and for the situation we have, the fact of counting on the contribution of all the players in the squad - built specifically to be able to face the various commitments beyond injuries - is an important element because you don't always have fluidity or you don't always have the possibility of scoring 90 points. Physically we still have our problems due to some ailments, so there is a continuous management of both rest and rotations. We have players recovering and we are preparing for what will be a battle. Final Eight pressure? I don't want to sound rhetorical but the pressure is felt for other much more important issues. I think it's right, instead, to enjoy the moment, to get to play matches for which we train to perform as best as possible. More than anything, having relatively young or inexperienced players, we need to find the balance in knowing how to manage so many commitments one after the other that are so important, but they must be faced with the enthusiasm of those who have the possibility of playing them. We must always look at the positive side of the coin, there are several teams that don't have the possibility of playing for these objectives. This must be a source of satisfaction for us because nothing is taken for granted, especially in this championship where nothing is so simple because there are so many teams fighting for so many different objectives".
A BASKET FOR RESEARCH During the weekend matches, for the first time in Italy all sixteen teams of the Unipol Serie A are lining up alongside the AIRC Foundation for cancer research with the new campaign “A Canestro per la Ricerca”. Players and coaches invite fans and enthusiasts to join the team of those who believe in research to make cancer more and more credible through donations to the number 45521 with SMS or calls from a landline, or on AIRC.IT. During the pre- and post-match interviews and for the entire duration of the match, the coaches will wear the adhesive rosette with the donation number.