Derthona leads from the start, resists comeback attempts and beats Varese
Bertram Derthona-Openjobmetis Varese 90-83
(21-15, 41-31, 68-59)
Scoreboards:
Derthona: Zerini 2, Ross 2, Dowe 8, Candi 7, Tavernelli ne, Strautinš 11, Baldasso 14, Kamagate 13, Severini 5, Obasohan 16, Weems 9, Radošević 3. Coach De Raffaele
Varese: Gilmore 7, Mannion 19, Ulaneo 2, Spencer 6, Woldetensae 6, Zhao ne, Virginio ne, McDermott 21, Besson 2, Okeke ne, Brown 19. Coach Bialaszewski
Bertram Derthona returns to success, leading the match against Varese from the first quarter in front of her own fans, resisting all the opponents' comeback attempts and finding the decisive plays towards the end of the match. Four players in double figures among the Juventus ranks (Obasohan, Baldasso, Kamagate, Strautinš) and the contribution of everyone in both halves of the pitch are among the keys to this important success.
First high-paced period at PalaEnergica: the two teams play quickly and find highly spectacular solutions. In the second part of the half, the Juventus defense increased its tone and produced the first breakthrough of the match (21-15 at 10'). In the second quarter, Varese reduces its gap, before a new defensive growth from the team coached by De Raffaele fuels the break which gives them the maximum advantage (37-27) in the 17th minute. In the last minutes before half-time, the gap between the two teams remains unchanged: in the 20th minute Bertram ahead 41-31.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, Openjobmetis found the lead - thanks to the precision of the three-point shot - to reduce the distance to just one possession (50-47 at 25'). After the time-out requested by coach De Raffaele, Derthona also consistently found outside baskets and re-established the gap (68-59 in the 30th minute). In the final quarter, Varese makes a great effort to get back into contact and, with McDermott's triple, they are back to just one possession behind (72-69) in the 35th minute. In Casale we thus arrive at a new sprint finish, in which Bertram always remains in the lead thanks to the defense and class of Obasohan and Weems and the clarity in key moments, triumphing 90-83.
So coach Walter De Raffaele at the end of the race: “Tonight's victory is as important as it is difficult, because it came against a team that plays atypically, with four or five shooters - with Gilmore tonight - in good time. The boys played a solid game, building well in attack even if they didn't always finish. Tonight's success perhaps takes us away definitively from the question of salvation, moving up from the third-to-last place we were in three months ago, and keeps us in the running for the dream - until a few weeks ago - of the post season. Obasohan has been increasing his performance for a while, especially in defense, while offensively we decided to give him more of the ball in his hands as a point guard, moving Dowe to guard, and even with the three small players his physical arrogance is important and can produce advantages especially in defense. Varese forces you to make different choices, pushing your opponents out of a common habit among almost all other teams.".
