The final sprint rewards Reggio Emilia, beating an untamed Derthona
Bertram Derthona Tortona – UNA Hotels Reggio Emilia 88-95
(21-28, 42-52, 64-73)
Tortona : Vital 24, Hubb 8, Gorham 10, Manjon 9, A. Smith 6, Alipiev 3, Bellinaso ne, Tandia 2, Baldasso 15, Biligha 4, Josovic ne, Riismaa 7. All. Fioretti.
Reggio Emilia : Barford 19, Woldetensae 8, Mainini ne, Caupain 13, Williams ne, J. Smith 2, Uglietti 8, Severini 10, Deme 2, Echenique 12, Vitali 5, Abreu, Cheatham 16. All. Priftis.
Referees : Gonella from Genoa, Valzani from Milan, Cassina from Desio (MB).
Bertram Tortona was defeated 88-95 in a friendly match by UNA Hotels Reggio Emilia, in the first ever game played in front of a crowd at the new Palazzetto della Cittadella dello Sport in Tortona, albeit for a limited number of guests.
With Pecchia and Strautins absent for coach Mario Fioretti, Dominik Olejniczak, the new Juventus center who arrived in Italy today after participating in Eurobasket 2025 with his country Poland, was on the sidelines watching his new teammates for the first time. Also saying goodbye before the game were departing Eigirdas Zukauskas, and former captain Luca Severini, returning for the first time as an opponent in over five seasons. Reggio got off to a better start (11-18), but triples from Vital and Baldasso quickly brought the home team back into the game (18-20 in the 7th minute). Reggio rallied at the end of the first quarter to close the score at 7-21 with a tap-in from Uglietti at the buzzer.
Baldasso continued to hit the net repeatedly from beyond the arc (4-of-7 from three at halftime, 5-of-10 at the end) and allowed another three, this time from Hubb, to bring Reggio Emilia to 40 with three minutes to go. The visitors again pulled ahead late in the period, closing the half with a double-digit lead, with Cheatham, Severini, and Uglietti scoring to make it 42-52 at halftime.
UNA Hotels, after reaching a 13-point lead early in the second half, entered the final quarter with a 9-point lead, relying on Barford's points, fueled by Caupain's assists (nine at the end of the game), 9-64. Tortona didn't give up, coming up with some defensive steals, and on the other end, Vital (73-of-5 three-pointers in a team-high 6-of-17 from beyond the arc) and a 30-4 run from Manjon led to an 0-85 lead with two and a half minutes remaining. Reggio responded with the Caupain-Cheatham duo, who mounted an immediate 84-of-0 run with one minute remaining to put the score firmly in coach Priftis's favor.
