Bertram in Trieste with redemption intentions. The words of coach De Raffaele
For Bertram Derthona Tortona the direct clashes in the playoff zone in the Unipol Serie A championship continue. Tomorrow, Saturday 1 February, they will be playing away against one of the other two teams that are on 20 points with the Bianconeri in sixth place in the standings, Pallacanestro Trieste, their opponent at 20:30 for the 18th matchday. Due to the direct clashes in which their other teammate Reggio Emilia also comes into play, Trieste against Tortona is actually the match between seventh and eighth, or rather the last two that at the moment would have guaranteed placement in the playoff grid. The goal of both is to defend and increase the 4-point advantage over ninth-placed Venice, awaited the next day by the away match on the field of Virtus Bologna, which in turn will be the opponent next week of the Leoni Tortonesi in the challenge on Sunday 9 February at the PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris in Casale Monferrato, the last commitment before the adventure in the Final Eight of the Coppa Italia.
REVENGE The game on Julian soil brings with it a desire for revenge for Severini and his teammates, beaten 85-82 by the red and white rookie with a three-point shot in the possible overtime that failed just seconds before the buzzer in the first leg last October 12 in Casale. There will also be the potential issue of the difference in baskets in the event of a victory, to be snatched in the PalaTrieste basin, the second venue for average attendance of spectators in the entire Serie A at the end of the first leg, with almost 5700 who followed the exploits of the home team coached by the American Jamion Christian and in which the former Colbey Ross plays, who last year wore the Derthona jersey 15 times and who, with Markel Brown and Denzel Valentine, contributes to the over 47 points per game from the starting outside sector, almost equally distributed. The three will be supported under the basket by the returning Jarrod Uthoff, absent in the last defeat in Milan (87-74) after a trio of victories in Scafati (in overtime), at home with Pistoia and in Reggio Emilia. The Trieste club has also just announced the hiring of Sean McDermott, but the former Varese player, taken from Pinar Karsiyaka, should not play in tomorrow's match.
STILL ON THE ROAD After Trieste, which was preceded by the trip to Germany to face Würzburg, Bertram will have just enough time to return home and then fly to the third away match in a week, the Champions League match on the parquet of AEK Athens, the second commitment in the Top 16 group scheduled for Tuesday 4th in the Greek capital.
WHERE TO SEE IT ON TV The match against Trieste will be broadcast live on DAZN.
STATEMENTS “Especially when you play at his home, even if more generally it's his way of playing, understanding the rhythm and containing the one-on-one of the various Trieste players will be fundamental elements for us”, It's the coach's comment on the eve of the match Walter De Raffaele. “It's a team that plays a lot in the open court, with a lot of initiative, in this aspect we will have to be good at recruiting the physical and mental energy to impact this type of basketball. I'm not surprised by the championship it's doing, Trieste is a great place, with a great tradition, that lives for basketball. It has managed to build a roster that is a mix of important experience and quality players, for example let's not forget that Valentine is a former NBA player. He's playing a great season and is anything but a rookie, it's the same thing that can be said for Trapani with different dimensions and characteristics. The ranking - keep it going - it's very short, we don't feel the pressure to win at all costs, we have a match every three days, we have to live them one at a time, knowing that they are all important matches with more or less direct clashes with respect to the objectives".
