Autosped is solid and effective, plays on par with Venice but loses in the final
Human Reyer Venice-Autosped BCC Derthona 71-59
(17-22, 41-35, 56-52)
Scoreboards:
Venice: Logoh ne, Berkani 16, Smalls 6, Villa 18, Nicolodi, Pan 5, Stankovic 6, Cubaj 7, Miccoli ne, Fassina, Santucci, Kuier 13. Coach Mazzon
BCC Derthona: Dotto 7, Marangoni, Fontaine 2, Milani, Premasunac, Leonardi ne, Zahui B. 7, Arado 2, Attura 14, Melchiori 14, Penna 11, Gatti 2. All. Cutugno
Autosped BCC Derthona played a great game for almost its entirety in the Coppa Italia semifinal against Umana Reyer Venezia, coming within one possession several times in the final, but the talented plays of the lagoon team were decisive for the outcome of the challenge. The first historic participation of the Giraffe in the Coppa Italia Final Four remains a moment to applaud and remember for the Club and for the team that, encouraged by its fans, dreamed and came close to accessing the final act of the event. Worthy of note is the return to the field of Francesca Melchiori, author of 14 points with 4/4 three-pointers.
First quarter of great level for BCC, who pays great attention to defense and finds great percentages in shooting from outside (7/12) to extend the score also pushed by the verve of Melchiori (10 points) to close ahead 17-22 at 10'. In the second period, Reyer raises the level of their game and finds in Villa and Berkani the finishers of the partial that is worth the overtaking (31-28) at 15'. In the final stages of the first half the lagoon team extends to 41-35 at the interval.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, Autosped tied the game at 41, forcing coach Mazzon to stop the game. After the interruption, Venice took the lead again and extended to 51-44 in the 27th minute. At the end of the period, the team coached by Cutugno closed the gap, and at the third siren the score was 56-52. The last quarter was balanced, with Autosped at 60-58 for Venice having the ball several times to tie or take the lead, before the decisive break of the Italian champions, who won the final by 71-59.
The comment of Francesca Melchiori, returning two months after surgery on the meniscus of the left knee: “We played a good game for many minutes, even if we could have been more precise towards the end because against strong teams like Venice you can't make mistakes in the decisive moments. There is a bit of regret because we were in the game until the final stages”.
So coach Orazio Cutugno: “There is still a bit of regret at the end, even if we can be proud of the match we played for long stretches, thanks to the work of the girls and the staff in preparing for the match. In the end, a couple of our choices were punished by the talent of Venice, whom I congratulate for the victory”.
