Segafredo Virtus Bologna – Orsi Derthona 76-69
Segafredo Virtus Bologna – Orsi Derthona 76-69
(26-19, 43-26, 58-53)
Bologna: Spissu 13, Pajola, Spizzichini 9, Olisemeke ne, Petrovic ne, Ndoja 17, Rosselli 11, Michelori 8, Oxilia 4, Penna 5, Lawson 7. All.Ramagli
Derthona: Greene IV 13, Cosey 15, Alviti 6, Ricci 5, Sanna 2, Reati 6, Conti 2, Mascherpa 3, Garri 12, Pilati ne, Billi ne, Cucci 5. All. Cavina Note: T2: BoV 22/31 ; On 15/29; T3: BoV 11/21; On 8/18; Tl: BoV 6/8; On 6/11.
Orsi Derthona lost 76-69 in the final to Segafredo Virtus Bologna at the end of an intense match and finished the Giusti Wine Tournament in second place.
In the final act of the Cortina Basket Week, the Lions were able to recover the gap accumulated in the first 20 minutes in the second half of the match, demonstrating their character, as underlined by a satisfied coach Demis Cavina: “It was a very profitable tournament , because it allowed us to compete against two very high level teams and in both matches we managed to react with stubbornness to the difficulties we had to face. We continue to have a good defensive attitude, while we know that we have ample room for improvement in the attacking half of the pitch, where we must learn to know ourselves and make better use of the advantages we gain."
Bologna did better at the start of the match, driven by the heavy baskets of Ndoja (11) and Spizzichini (9), while Derthona remained close behind with Garri's goals and Cosey's percussion. A basket by Oxilia at the siren at the end of the first quarter made it 26-19 in the 10th minute, but Bologna's pace was momentarily superior and the gap between the two teams gradually widened. Driven by Penna and the former player Spissu, Virtus reached their maximum advantage near the interval (43-26). The break regenerates the Lions, who find the grit and intensity of the semi-final right from the first minutes and begin a slow but steady comeback, in which, among others, Garri and Alviti are the protagonists. Phil Greene's three-point play allowed them to get back into the single-digit deficit (56-48) in the 27th minute, then it was Reati, with a long-range basket, who closed the gap further (56-53 in the 29th minute).
The match heats up, the defenses increase in tone while in attack Cosey and Greene trigger a nice long-distance duel with Ndoja and Spissu which also amuses the crowd at the PalaGhiaccio; However, Derthona was unable to make an impact and, on Ndoja's triple which made it 69-63 less than two minutes from the end, saw the victory finally slip away.
The team will return to Tortona in the evening, where they are expected to have a day of rest. Preparation will resume on Monday morning with the first of the two sessions foreseen in the work programme: the next friendly match is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 18.00pm in Biella.
