Bertram surrenders in Sassari
Banco di Sardegna Sassari-Bertram Derthona 84-72
(19-20, 39-40, 66-56)
Scoreboards:
Sassari: Pisano, Dowe 15, Kruslin 15, Gandini, Devecchi, Treier, Chessa 9, Stephens 10, Bendzius 22, Gentile 2, Raspino, Diop 11. Coach Bucchi
Derthona: Christon 20, Mortellaro ne, Candi 2, Tavernelli 4, Nikolic, Filloy 3, Severini 1, Harper 7, Cain 13, Radošević 11, Macura 11, Filoni ne. All. Ramondino
Defeat at PalaSerradimigni for Bertram Derthona who, after leading for a large part of the first half and at the beginning of the second half, suffered a partial setback from Banco di Sardegna, which directed the match. In the last quarter the Lions came into contact several times, but the opponent's greater precision in the three-point shot allowed Sassari to extend their margin again and win the two points.
The match started with a break at PalaSerradimigni: Christon and Harper launched Bertram in the first minutes, Kruslin and Bendzius - with baskets from outside - brought Banco di Sardegna back into contact. Derthona leads in scoring right from the tap-off, but the gap between the two teams at the first siren is minimal (19-20). The great balance on the pitch is also maintained for the entire second half of a very tactical match up to this point: after some serves led by Sassari, Christon's plays (14 points in the first 20') bring Bertram back ahead at the long break (39-40).
Upon returning from the locker rooms the meeting continues with the same leitmotiv, before two consecutive triples by Bendzius bring Banco di Sardegna to +4 (53-49) in the 26th minute. Chessa and Stephens fuel the run and push Sassari to a double-digit lead, Christon and Radošević shorten the lead, but three free throws from Dowe at the end set the score at 66-56 in the 30th minute. In the final period, a few plays in a row by Bendzius keep the distances unchanged, before in the central phase of the quarter, taking advantage of an opponent's offensive decline, Bertram comes back into contact (72-67 at 35'). At the moment of maximum Juventus return, triples from Bendzius and Kruslin definitively close the game, which ends 84-72.
Thus coach Marco Ramondino at the end of the race: “Congratulations to Sassari for the victory, they played better than us throughout the match. On our part there were many errors and mistakes both when we were ahead and when Sassari took a small margin. Today we didn't have the mental presence necessary to be consistent for forty minutes and when we played without controlling the action, mistakes were made. On a qualitative level, the match wasn't bad but discontinuous, because we constructed and missed many open shots: however, we know that to win away from home you can't always hope for shooting percentages but you have to take the field with determination, be more clear in your discipline defensive and offensive choices."
