GSA Udine vs Bertram Tortona

GSA UDINE: Dykes 20, Benevelli 7, Bushati 11, Caupain 20, Mortellaro 8, Diop 2, Chiti ne, Ferrari 1, Pinton, Nobile ne, Pellegrino 10, Raspino 4. All. Lardo

BERTRAM DERTHONA: Spanghero 5, Sorokas 12, Johnson 20, Alibegovic 7, Garri 18, Cremaschi ne, Pilati ne, Quaglia 4, Gergati 5, Radonjic 3, Apuzzo. All. Pansa.

First act of the series goes to Udine, skilled and cynical in gaining the lead in the third quarter and maintaining it by resisting the assault of a tough Bertram Derthona until the final 83-74. Against one of the battleships with a long roster, the Lions started off on the right foot (17-25 at 10') and ended a very eager first half at 46-48. In the third quarter the hosts go wild, led by Dykes with four bombs in less than 5', for a 66-55 lead in the 25th minute. Derthona has the merit of holding on to the game and, with a great defense, which between the 31st and 35th minute conceded only one point to Udine, returning to -4 (73-69). Here, a couple of inaccuracies in attack cost the possessions of a further potential approach and Caupain's basket, which makes it 76-69 in the 36th minute, is what allows the home team to keep their distance. Derthona does not bow his head; pushed by the over sixty fans who arrived in Friuli, he resisted -9 and went back to -6 (triple by Sorokas in the 38th minute), but was unable to close the gap and the match ended with the home team winning 83-74. Now for the Lions it's a matter of resting and recovering energy for the match on Wednesday 2 May, at 20.30pm, with the Bianconeri who will try to equalize the series before returning to their den, at the PalaOltrepo' in Voghera.

Lorenzo Pansa"I am proud of the performance my boys produced today. We had a sumptuous first half, then we ran into trouble thanks to Udine's great quality. We then had the strength to get back into the game and with two better performances, with a flawless defense, today we could talk about another game. I am convinced that we could do even more. Now it's about recovering your energy; if we are able to propose this desire again, we will be able to have fun".