Sprint final in Masnago: a Weems basket gives Bertram success
Openjobmetis Varese-Bertram Derthona 78-80
(23-24, 40-41, 58-61)
Scoreboards:
Varese: Shahid 6, Cauley-Stein 8, Ulaneo 4, Woldetensae, Moretti 7, Librizzi, Virginio ne, Hanlan 24, McDermott 12, Assui ne, Brown 17. All. Bialaszewski
Derthona: Zerini ne, Dowe 11, Candi 2, Tavernelli ne, Straūtins 2, Baldasso 6, Severini, Daum 6, Obasohan 13, Weems 22, Thomas 8, Radošević 10. Coach Ramondino
Second consecutive victory for Bertram Derthona, who prevailed in the final seconds at the Itelyum Arena in Varese thanks to Kyle Weems' basket. The balance was the leitmotiv of forty minutes in which the two teams started a challenge of partials, without managing to place the decisive push until the last minutes. For the team coached by Ramondino, the best way to prepare for their debut in the BCL (Wednesday 18 October at 20.30 pm against UCAM Murcia at the PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris).
First quarter with a high offensive pace for the two teams, who also resort to outside shots to move the score: in the final stages Bertram overtakes and closes ahead 23-24 in the 10th minute. In the second half the balance on the pitch remained between the two teams, in a match made up of partials and partials. Obasohan's basket at the end makes it 40-41 at the break.
Upon returning from the locker room, Varese finds continuity in his three-point shooting and goes on to lead the match. In the moment of greatest difficulty for Bertram, it was Weems who initiated the comeback with classy plays. The Hanlan-Baldasso back and forth from beyond the arc closes the third period (58-61). In the last quarter the team coached by Ramondino always maintained the lead until the final stages. Hanlan's triple ties the score at 77 with 21 seconds left, Weems' response - again from beyond the arc - is like a great player and puts full possession back between the two teams. Hanlan again earns three free throws: 1/3 of the Varese guard gives Bertram the success.
Thus coach Marco Ramondino at the end of the race: “We are very happy with the victory because we had seen the different face that Varese can have on this field. Tonight didn't have the same extension as the final partial against Pistoia, but in at least a couple of moments Openjobmetis lit up, with the public. I believe that the most important aspect for a team like us, in search of balance, trust, hierarchies, was reacting to these moments. I believe that we didn't need great plays to win the match, we were not disunited when Varese, with some great baskets following excited actions, tied the match and we managed to produce the decisive play. We deserved to win in Varese both last year and this year, even though Varese has a completely different set-up than last year. This has not been an easy week for us, because we lost Claudio who always gave us his affection and loved us, so we wanted to thank him for what he did and his wife Enrica who is a very important person for the our Derthona environment”.
