Thrilling final in Varese: a free throw from Christon gives the Lions success and qualification for the Final Eight of the Italian Cup
Openjobmetis Varese-Bertram Derthona 88-89
(17-18, 44-42, 73-62)
Scoreboards:
Varese: Ross 35, Woldentensae 17, De Nicolao 6, Zhao ne, Librizzi, Virginio, Ferrero 3, Brown 15, Caruso, Owens 2, Johnson 10. All. Brase
Derthona: Christon 10, Mortellaro ne, Candi 9, Tavernelli, Filloy 10, Severini 6, Harper 5, Daum 17, Cain 10, Radošević 14, Macura 8, Filoni ne. All. Ramondino
A thousand emotions in Bertram Dertona's first match of 2023: at the 'Lino Oldrini' stadium the Bianconeri achieved a sprint victory and, for the second consecutive year, mathematical qualification for the Final Eight of the Italian Cup which will be played in Turin this season. After a very balanced challenge, the team coached by coach Ramondino comes out at a distance, is overtaken by Varese but in the final actions, with clarity, achieves an important success.
First period of high pace and partials in Masnago: after the first minutes of the match led by Varese in scoring, Bertram overtakes and closes ahead 17-18 in the 10th minute. In the second half the game runs on the same tracks and in the name of balance. Derthona held the lead for large stretches, before being overtaken by the home team, led by Ross. At halftime the score was 44-42.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, Openjobmetis found great continuity and high percentages in their outside shots, placing an important break that earned them the maximum advantage and led to 73-62 in the 30th minute. In the last quarter Bertram, thanks to the defensive growth and the plays of Daum and Candi, first closed the gap, then found parity at 76 in the 35th minute. After coach Brase's time-out, Filloy and Radošević score a 0-7 partial which fuels the favorable moment for the Bianconeri and is worth +7 (76-83) in the 37th minute. Ross scores an 8-0 which is worth the new overtaking (88-85), before Filloy's triple impacts the match 30 seconds from the end. Ross's next attempt fails to score, Christon is fouled one second before the siren: the point guard scores the first free throw, misses the second but time expires and Derthona prevails 88-89.
Thus coach Marco Ramondino at the end of the race: “Very important victory for the standings and because we were coming off a very bad performance against Treviso, regardless of the merits of our opponents. Tonight we played well doing the things we were supposed to. Varese produced two big gusts, at the end of the second and third quarter: usually these gusts are devastating for the opponents and during some matches they scored many more. Varese played a great game, with many difficult baskets and Ross' last eight points contested: having remained clear and having built a good shot for Filloy and an excellent last defense with Severini and Daum are aspects to underline in a context like the match in Varese where you are put to the test from the point of view of discipline, balance and control of the race. Candi played an important match, he is one of the players who is sacrificing a lot and willingly accepts appearing less for the good of the team: so we are happy that he had the opportunity to step up his shots and make important plays".
