Fioretti: "Defense, energy, and the crowd: that's how we tied the series. Now we're humble but confident in Game 5."
Two for two. Mario Fioretti and his team took the best that Games 3 and 4 at home had to offer Bertram Derthona Tortona, who emerged 89-71 victorious from their new match at the Nova Arena against Umana Reyer Venezia, repeating their success from less than 48 hours earlier to force a decisive Game 5 of the quarterfinal series of the 2026 Unipol LBA Playoffs.
"We played forty minutes of excellent defense, with a great attitude, applying great pressure, and doing everything with great intensity," the Tortona coach said in his post-Game 4 press conference, starting with the just over 70 points conceded against one of the league's best offensive opponents. "Offensively, we struggled in the first two quarters, both missing a few well-constructed shots inside the paint and losing several balls due to poor spacing. We didn't make any more mistakes in the third quarter, putting together a run that, along with the first two minutes of the final quarter, proved decisive. We're tied in the series. On Tuesday, we travel to Venice. Obviously, it will be very tough, but the boys and all of us are ready."
At the Nova Arena, Derthona revisited the technical, physical, and tactical history of the series after the two initial defeats on Venetian soil: "We started with the basics. We managed to reduce turnovers and keep Venice from running; that was the first factor. Then we controlled the rebounds better. It's true that in Game 3 they did even better in terms of numbers, but they shot very poorly, thus giving them the opportunity to grab many more rebounds. Beyond the tactical key, what made the difference was their energy and presence: I hope they maintain that in Game 5, even though we won't have our fans, who were truly fantastic in these two games. From my experience, the key in the playoffs is often how you approach it. The boys' skill was going down 0-2 and not getting demoralized, thinking one game at a time."
The Bianconeri's full focus now shifts to the crucial "draw" on Tuesday at 8:00 PM at the PalaTaliercio in Mestre: "Our key skill will be to not travel too high, otherwise we'll definitely crash. We need to think about going there modestly, as we've been in these last two games. As always, in the playoffs, we reset, we go to Venice, on a very tough pitch, against a very strong team, who are playing very well and are well-coached, but we need to go there with confidence."
