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Top 16 Mission for Bertram: in Manresa for direct qualification to the second phase of the BCL. Squarcina's words

Top 16 Mission for Bertram: in Manresa for direct qualification to the second phase of the BCL. Squarcina's words

Tomorrow night Bertram will try to plant another milestone in the growth path of Derthona Basket. In Manresa, about seventy kilometers northwest of Barcelona, ​​Walter De Raffaele's black and white team is playing for the possibility of snatching the pass for the Top 16 of the Basketball Champions League, defending its first place in Group G from the assault of the Catalans of BAXI in the direct clash at 20:30 at Pavellò Nou Congost, valid for the sixth and final round of the first group phase of the main European cup for FIBA ​​clubs. For Tortona, already sure of at least the second place, it would be a step forward compared to the second place of last year that led to the Play-In, where it was then defeated 2-0 by Galatasaray. About sixty fans will be following the team towards reaching the historic goal. For Bertram, the conditions of Justin Gorham will be assessed, who will undergo instrumental tests today following the injury suffered in the victory against Venice on Saturday night. That is, in the same hours in which Manresa, with former players Obasohan and Hunt, was forced to lose its seasonal unbeaten home run at the hands of Andorra in a very high-scoring match (107-111), interrupting in front of almost five thousand spectators the positive streak of 7 home games between ACB and BCL of the men coached by Diego Ocampo, who fell to seventh place in the championship tied with Barcelona and Badalona (6 won and 5 lost).

DERTHONA QUALIFIES IF… The undefeated Tortona Lions have a 2-point advantage in the standings over the Spaniards, 10 against 8, so a victory would obviously make the passage certain. But even in the event of a defeat there is the possibility of advancing directly to the Round of 16 that starts on January 28-29: the “little treasure” of 102-85 from the first leg allows Severini and his teammates to lose with a margin contained within 17 points and bypass the Play-In (eventual game-1 on January 7-8 at home). The rules of the continental tournament state that in the event of two teams arriving in a tie in the standings, the discriminants are, in order, the number of matches won in the direct clash, the difference in baskets in the same, the greater number of points scored – in a single game – in the games between the two teams and the general difference in baskets, the latter in favor of Manresa (+79 against Tortona's +59). All this means that Derthona will qualify even in the event of a 17-point defeat but without allowing the Iberians to score more than 101. With a deficit of 18 or more, Manresa would win the group.

WHERE TO SEE IT ON TV The race will be broadcast live on DAZN.

STATEMENTS “It is without a doubt the most difficult match of the group, Manresa is a steamroller at home, among the last games played they won against Barcelona very well even being ahead by 20 points, they gave 40 to Malaga who at the time were leading the championship”, the Juventus assistant coach begins to present the challenge like this Iacopo Squarcina, who is celebrating his birthday today. "We expect a hostile climate, in a sporting sense, they have a nice hot bowl, like us they aim to go first in the group so they will have the constant push of the public. We must go there with the awareness that we have to play the game and in any case know that in the moments of their breaks we will have to stay compact to take it home. Their strong points - keep it going - they are always the same: enormous pressure on the ball all over the court, great pace and great frequency even in substitutions to keep the athletic level and intensity high, running quickly on the court even after the first seconds of the action to try to surprise. They will try to get their hands on us, that's for sure, in the first leg they came from a tired situation because they had played forty-eight hours before, but despite that they still tried to put us in difficulty by pressing us all over the court and forcing us to lose balls. We will have to be clear-headed in managing the ball and in not playing their basketball, that is, not a game of ping pong but controlling the pace ourselves. In terms of roster, compared to the first leg in the pivot role there is no longer Brimah but Massa, who was in France last year in Bourg. As for the type of characteristics he is quite similar to Brimah but he further increases the physical impact of the team. He, Sagnia, Obasohan himself, are players with enormous physicality and athleticism".