Bertram Derthona returns to victory in front of its fans by beating Virtus Roma 75 to 69
Bertram Derthona – Virtus Roma 75-69
(22-21, 31-29, 55-53)
BERTRAM DERTHONA: Meluzzi, Stefanelli 3, Cremaschi ne, Sorokas 16, Radonjic, Divac, Apuzzo ne, Quaglia 5, Garri 12, Gergati 14, Johnson 20, Spanghero 5. All. Pansa
VIRTUS ROMA: Benetti ne, Basile, Maresca 6, Chessa 6, Baldasso 10, Lucarelli ne, Landi 6, Roberts 19, Thomas 12, Ndzie ne, Parente 10. Coach Bechi
Bertram Derthona returns to victory in front of its fans by beating Virtus Roma 75 to 69. The merit of coach Pansa's team is that of having maintained the right mental solidity, knowing how to dictate the pace of the game in the most appropriate moments, thus managing to dig the most important groove in the last quarter.
Tortona starts immediately with great competitive anger, creating, with Sorokas and Johnson, the first break for Tortona with a partial of 6-0. Roberts and Baldasso equalize the scores, starting a point-to-point match that lasts until the first siren and continues into the second quarter. In the final two minutes of the second quarter, Tortona's break arrives: Spanghero's bomb and Quaglia's dunk send the Tortona crowd into raptures. The beginning of the third quarter is marked by organized support from Tortono, but the balance on the pitch continues. Roma puts their noses forward, then two triples from Melvin Johnson break the fast, thus bringing the team back into contact (50-50). Johnson finds Gergati at the siren for 55-53 in the 30th minute, prelude to the mini-breakaway of the fourth period: the match, in fact, remains balanced, open until the last minutes, but the Derthona attack terminals - Johnson and Gergati in particular – they manage to dig the decisive break (70-62). In the final Sorokas takes care of closing the match by setting the score on the scoreboard at 75 to 69.
Lorenzo Pansa: “We didn't show you an exciting match. We were good at putting the game to sleep and when we didn't succeed we didn't suffer any counterattack situations. The eighteen turnovers are the negative note, but this match had an important specific weight because we were coming off two consecutive defeats and they were showing great growth. Now we have to recover quickly against a completely renewed team that seems to have acquired new enthusiasm and it will be another tough match away again."
