Bertram Derthona conquers the Biella Forum 75 to 76
EUROTREND CONNECTING ROD – BERTRAM DERTHONA 75-76
(16-12, 36-38, 56-57)
EUROTREND BIELLA: Sgobba 4, Bowers 12, Uglietti 8, Ferguson 27, Chiarastella 9, L. Pollone, Tessitori 7, M. Pollone ne, Wheatle 8, Ambrosetti ne, Rattalino. All. Carrea
BERTRAM DERTHONA: Stefanelli 7, Sorokas 14, Quaglia 2, Spanghero 17, Gergati 6, Garri 17, Apuzzo ne, Divac, Johnson 13, Pilati ne, Radonjic, Meluzzi. All. Pansa
A feat by Bertram Derthona who succeeded in a live national broadcast where no one had succeeded in the 19 previous regular season matches. Coriaceous in recovering from a bad first quarter and the difficulties of the fourth quarter, Derthona closed with a defensive performance and closed the score with Spanghero's fifth triple (100% shooting from the three-point line) after the four baskets made in the first half.
THE CHRONICLE
Biella puts quality and quantity under the basket from the very first minutes of the game. Tessitori confirmed his dominance under the basket with five rebounds in five minutes of play. The Tortona defense knows what it has to do against Ferguson but coach Carrea's team started with great energy. Biella shows attention on pick and rolls, limiting Tortona's offensive. At home Derthona Quaglia temporarily closes the gap. The scoreboard reads 12-8 with the previous baskets by Johnson, Garri and Sorokas with the winning tap-in. The Lithuanian takes advantage of penetrations and one-on-ones against Eurotrend's good defense, but his perseverance pays off with two finishes in the next two actions. In the first quarter there is also time for the new signing Lorenzo Gergati to make his seasonal debut. The first 10 minutes of the game ended 16-12 for the home team. Biella returns to the parquet with the same intensity. Bowers tries to post up but the conclusion doesn't have the desired result. Biella's choice is not to double the lead but to leave Tessitori in a one-on-one situation, but Garri plays cunningly by scoring two very important baskets. After 9 consecutive errors from the three-point range for both teams, the first triple came thanks to the hand of Marco Spanghero. Tortona concedes little or nothing to coach Carrea's attack and Spanghero punishes with two more consecutive three-point bombs. Biella is on the pitch with a small quintet and in these moments the first overtaking for Tortona arrives with Gergati (30-31). Tortona ended the first half ahead 36-38 thanks to Spanghero's break with 14 points on the scoresheet. On the opposing side, Bowers proved to be Eurotrend's best player with another four points in the first moments of the second half but it was a point-to-point match. Captain Garri sends the ball into the retina with a 360 turn, but the 2,08cm center rides on the wave of enthusiasm and scores the three-point bomb. Tortona makes the first move to gain a lead of +5 (42-47). Biella raises the intensity, Fersguson and Chiarastella score three points, once again putting the men in the black and white jackets at bay (50-51). Ferguson shows quality off the dribble and scores again from three points using pick and rolls again. The third quarter ends 56-57 for Bertram Derthona with the shot not rewarding Ferguson's attack at the siren. The last act of this big match begins. Chiarastella is showing an excellent defensive performance both on pick and rolls and one on one, containing Captain Garri. Biella tries to extend the lead with the USA duo Ferguson and Bowers but Stefanelli's triple from the corner is of crucial importance, bringing his teammates within 4 (68-64). Johnson scores his first triple with one minute left, but of crucial importance, bringing the team just one point behind (74-73).
Marco Picchi: “I'm still quite shaken. We suffered a lot in the rebounds but I liked the team's behavior even when we were at -7 where it was easy to give up. We are a team that is going on a roller coaster but the qualities are there and we can look at this victory with different eyes because it could be the turning point."
Lorenzo Pansa: “We certainly didn't think we would come to Biella and play an easy match. We had a great reaction but the best thing was that we managed to stay solid until the end. We have been rewarded and the boys deserve it. We changed something on the pick and rolls of Bowers and Ferguson and this allowed us to hang on to the game."
