Bertram beaten in a sprint by Naples
GeVi Napoli-Bertram Derthona 81-76
(16-15, 32-35, 63-53)
Scoreboards:
Napoli: Pullen 16, Zubcic 19, Ennis 9, De Nicolao, Owens 13, Brown 16, Sokolowski 8, Lever, Bamba ne, Mabor, Saccoccia, Ebeling ne. All. Milicic
Derthona: Zerini 2, Noua 4, Ross 11, Candi 3, Tavernelli ne, Baldasso 14, Straūtins 12, Severini 3, Obasohan 13, Weems 4, Thomas 5, Radošević 5. All. De Raffaele
Bertram Derthona was defeated by PalaBarbuto, at the end of a match in which the Bianconeri led for over half the match, before suffering a partial defeat between the third and final period. The team coached by De Raffaele, making his debut on the Derthona bench, with great character and pride came close to Naples, without being able to complete the comeback.
Balanced first period at PalaBarbuto: Bertram started it better, driven by Obasohan's initiatives, but Napoli closed it better who, led by Owens, finished ahead 16-15 at 10'. Derthona starts the second quarter with a 2-12 run, signed by five points each from Baldasso and Straūtins, which is worth 18-27 in the 14th minute and forces coach Milicic to stop the match. In the last minutes before the break, GeVi returns to contact, with Ennis and Owens: at the break Leoni lead 32-35.
Upon returning from the changing rooms, the team coached by De Raffaele started off with the right attitude, extending their lead. From 42-48 sealed by Weems' basket, however, Napoli finds a sequence of three-point baskets that turns the momentum of the match. GeVi overtakes and widens the gap to +10 (63-53) in the 30th minute. In the final period, the hosts increased their maximum lead (69-55) at the start, before Bertram increased the intensity of their defense and - possession after possession - reduced their gap to 5 points (72-67 ). Zubcic, coolly on the line, brings GeVi's margin back to double figures, then three consecutive triples from Ross (2) and Candi bring the Bianconeri back to -1 (77-76) with 24 seconds to go. Brown is glacial on the line, Ross misses the equalizing shot and Ennis closes the game: Napoli wins 81-76.
Thus coach Walter De Raffaele at the end of the race: “I think we played a good match for twenty-four, twenty-five minutes, then for five minutes we had great frenzy and that's where Napoli's talent came out and in the end they deservedly won. I have to give credit to the team for having fought until the end, coming back until they had the shot for the equalizer which unfortunately didn't go in. There are many things to work on, especially the frenzy in doing things: however, I take a lot of positive things about the attitude and the desire to come back twice from a significant disadvantage.".
