History is being written again. Mens Sana Siena beaten and access to the Final Eight
Bertram Derthona – Mens Sana Siena 86 -72
(19-14, 44-30, 64-50)
BERTRAM DERTHONA: Stefanelli 4, Johnson 11, Gergati 5, Sorokas 34, Garri 19, Meluzzi, Quaglia 8, Apuzzo, Divac ne, Spanghero 5, Cremaschi, Radonjic. All. Pansa
MENS SANA SIENA: Turner 20, Ebanks 19, Sandri 12, Saccaggi 10, Vildera 7, Simonovic, Casella 4, Ceccarelli none, Lestini, Lurini none, Pannini none. All. Mecacci.
VOGHERA. Tortona returns to write history. It does so in front of an audience that has never been so involved, overcoming Mens Sana Siena and achieving a historic qualification for the Final Eight of the Italian Cup. The final score was 86-72 for the Lions, authors of a sumptuous collective performance from both sides. Sorokas, with 34 points and 11 rebounds, is the match winner of an evening that the Juventus public will remember for a long time.
Siena opens the ball, but Tortona's 9-0 break forces coach Mecacci to call a time-out after just 4'. Saccaggi and Vildera keep the guests in the lead, but the hosts, led by captain Garri and Sorokas, manage to maintain the two-point gap (16-14). The Lions keep good guard over the American Mens Sana duo, managing to make Ebanks' conclusions ineffective (1/5 from two); in the final moments there was still time for Francesco Quaglia's triple, so the Lions ended the first quarter ahead with a score of 19-14. Gergati, Sorokas and Johnson try the first long-range attack, but Sandri and Ebanks are punctual in putting the breath back down their necks. In the second part of the second period comes another break for Tortona: free throws from Garri, Gergati, Sorokas and Johnson's triple send the Lions to the locker room with a score of 44-30.
Siena returns from the locker room with a completely different attitude: Turner attacks the space several times, grinding out points, and brings his team back to a single-digit deficit. The Lions, however, managed to react to the crisis in the third quarter where Siena overcame the home team and even took them to -5 points, but Garri and Sorokas restored momentum to coach Pansa's partnership by returning to +14 (64-50) when by now only the last act is missing. Bertram Derthona controls in the final, and his audience can thus celebrate a historic and more than ever deserved achievement.
