Bertram almost pulls off a feat in Trapani: Partizan wins in overtime against an unstoppable Derthona
Partizan Belgrade – Bertram Derthona 96-94 aet
(16-11, 44-41, 68-58, 85-85)
Scoreboards:
Partizan : Davies 9, Lundberg 6, C. Jones 21, Ntilikina 7, Koprivica 4, Nakic 4, Marinkovic 3, Pokusevski 5, Brown 14, Bonga 6, Lakic, T. Jones 17. All. Obradovic.
Bertram : Zerini, Kuhse 16, Gorham 10, Candi 6, Denegri 4, Strautins 9, Baldasso 21, Kamagate 16, Biligha 2, Severini 3, Josovic ne, Weems 7. Coach De Raffaele.
Referees : Sahin, Lo Guzzo, Patti.
It is a Bertram in the Euroleague format that is one shot away from victory against Partizan Belgrade. Even without an important player like Vital, forced to withdraw due to a shoulder problem following last Wednesday's match against Olimpia Milano, in the semifinal of the Preseason Tournament in Trapani, Walter De Raffaele's team does not give up a shot in front of the Serbian superpower, even coming back from -14 during the second half to take the game to overtime with a three-pointer with 3 tenths of a second left by Weems and only sees the masterpiece slip away on the very last shot of the match. Partizan wins 96-94 at the PalaShark, with Zelimir Obradovic's men breathing a huge sigh of relief on Gorham's three-pointer that crashed on the rim on the overtime buzzer, after the basket that put the Slavs ahead with 22" to go by Brandon Davies.
The great first half of the totem Kamagate (15 points and 4 offensive rebounds in the initial 20 minutes), the rain of triples by Baldasso (6/13 from three at the end) in the fourth quarter to come back from 63-49 in the 26th, the tie at 82 with 1'20” left in regulation thanks to another important basket by Strautins, vital shortly after in conquering the offensive rebound and offering the ball to Weems for the triple that sent everyone to overtime, where Kuhse then took the stage, are just the iceberg of an excellent team performance that brought Bertram to a very close look at a historic success.
Tomorrow at 18:15 the 3rd-4th place final will be played for the Japanese Ryukyu Golden Kings, a team from the city of Okinawa defeated 78-69 by the home team Trapani Shark in the other semi-final.
STATEMENTS “I have to say that regarding what I talked about during the presentation, that is, that we had to adequately respond to Partizan's size, athleticism and physicality, I had positive responses from the entire team, with an excellent defensive attitude and also the ability to come back from a double-digit deficit against a Euroleague team that can rotate many important players ,” commented coach Walter De Raffaele . I think it's right to demand quality execution and decision-making under pressure right now, but there are also mitigating factors due to the time of year, and this game gives us important insights into where to work, especially in the execution of certain possessions that could have allowed us to win the game. We had 22 assists, and this willingness to pass the ball is truly precious to us because we want to rely on 12 players. We don't have stars, but we have a system, and that came through today, especially in a game where we were missing a key player like Vital. So, there's a bit of disappointment in not winning, even though we had the chance, but on the other hand, there were many positive signs against a great team and its leader, who certainly doesn't need any praise from me.
