Bertram suffers from a difficult start and falls against Leonis
Leonis Roma-Bertram Derthona 80-59
(22-9, 39-30, 54-45)
Scoreboards:
Rome: Fall 9, Zeisloft 9, Santini ne, Rocchi ne, Fanti ne, Infante 5, Loschi 13, Cicchetti, Amici 17, Piazza 9, Touré 8, Hollis 10. All. Corbani
Derthona: Knowles 19, Tuoyo 13, Alibegovic 8, Cremaschi ne, Ganeto, Blizzard 3, Buffo, Garri 12, Lusvarghi ne, Lisini ne, Gergati ne, Spizzichini 4. All. Pansa
Bertram Derthona, affected by the absences of Ndoja and Gergati and the physical problems of Ganeto and Spizzichini, must postpone the appointment with the first success in the championship. The Bianconeri fell in Ferentino against Leonis Roma at the end of a match led by coach Corbani's team for a long time: the shooting percentages from outside and the greater clarity allowed the home team to take home the victory. The start of the match was slow for both teams, conditioned by low percentages in outside shooting: it was then Leonis who produced better offensive solutions, which led coach Corbani's team to the maximum advantage in the match (13-6 in the 7th minute). The inertia of the match remains in the hands of the hosts, who close the run of 19-3 - from 6-3 Bertram to 22-9 at the first siren - with a basket by Loschi from mid-court. The offensive difficulties of the Bianconeri continued in the second quarter and were accentuated by the great fluidity of Leonis' game, who constructed excellent solutions: Touré's triple was worth +20 (31-11) and forced coach Pansa to stop the game. At the moment of maximum difficulty comes the reaction of Bertram who, led by Knowles and Tuoyo, halves their gap (36-26 at 19') and at half-time the score is 39-30 for Roma. Upon returning from the locker rooms, Derthona's defensive growth allows coach Pansa's team to get back in touch in the score (43-40 at 25'). In the final minutes of the period, great balance remained between the two teams: a triple from Infante at the end widened the gap again, with Leonis leading 54-45. Bertram's comeback attempts in the last ten minutes were controlled by coach Corbani's team, led by a 9-0 scored by Amici-Zeisloft - which sent Derthona back - and surgical in finding baskets at the end of 24 seconds: the hosts they then regained the double-digit lead in the 37th minute (67-55) with a triple from Hollis and achieved success. The final is 80-59.
Thus coach Pansa at the end of the match: ʺI congratulate Roma for being ready to push us back every time we came back into contact. We had too soft a start to come here to win the match: the week didn't allow us to prepare hard but, especially in the second quarter, we needed to do something more. We were good in the third quarter, but in that moment it was the offensive rebounds we conceded that made the difference, allowing Roma extra possessions which produced counterbreaks that hurt when you're coming back. We tried not to become disunited but, despite returning to -7, we didn't have the inertia in our hands: at that moment Roma did well to break up the game with a couple of three-point baskets. I'm sorry that we gave up in the last few minutes, it's bad to end a game like this: I think it's necessary to roll up all our sleeves and take on greater individual responsibility, while at the same time trying to raise our three-point shooting percentages because otherwise it becomes complicated to win the matches, especially against a strong opponent like Roma. I felt tension at the start of the match: these moments happen during the season, we have to be good at doing more. It is also clear that, after having lost a controlled match for large stretches like the one against Siena, having spent the week playing three against three due to the numerous injury problems we had did not help us from the point of view of mental toughness and of physical condition. Our problem is the energy we put on the pitch over the forty minutes, there must be desire, I don't understand why we didn't get our hands on the ball in the first quarter. In this condition you can struggle in the last five minutes, not after the first few minutes of the game.
