Bertram's March Madness begins: first stop at the home of the Cup winner and lone leader Trento
Nine matches to play between Serie A and the Champions League from the first to the penultimate day of the month. It is a strategic March for the future of the season of Bertram Derthona Tortona, busy defending the playoff position in the championship and snatching qualification for the quarter-finals of the European cup at the end of the current round of the second phase. It begins tomorrow with one of the most difficult challenges to face at the moment in the whole Serie A Unipol, the away match at Trento galvanized by the recent triumph in the Final Eight. Starting from the trip to Trentino, the matches will follow one another at a rate of three a week until the end of the month, with five home commitments between Patras, Varese, AEK Athens, Pistoia and Wurzburg and four away matches between Trento, the return to Patras, Scafati and Venice.
CHALLENGE TO THE ELITE The matchday 20 home game against Dolomiti Energia Trentino, scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, March 1st, at 8:00 PM at the Il T Quotidiano Arena, marks the return of competitive matches for the Tortona team, two and a half weeks after their exit in the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia. This is the competition that made their opponent's season even more special, as they are also the sole league leaders with 30 points, 10 more than Derthona, who are now battling against the nearest rivals in eighth place, Venezia, two points behind them in the standings. The match, the first for Paolo Galbiati's Trentino team after the Italian Championship, will be preceded by a club celebration celebrating their achievements at the Inalpi Arena in Turin. The celebrations will begin in the village outside the arena, set up for the occasion, with the display of the trophy, which the team will then carry inside for the final crowd-pleaser in the sold-out Trento stadium.
A DESIRE FOR REDEMPTION: Amid the fireworks of the home fans, Bertram's desire to bounce back, struggling with six consecutive defeats in various competitions, must be incorporated. This support also comes from the first leg, when in the final match of 2024, Severini and his teammates prevailed in Casale with one of the most convincing performances of their season, defeating Trento, then the sole league leader, 91-77. The game was already decided at a 13-point lead at the end of the third quarter, and the visitors never threatened again.
WHERE TO WATCH IT ON TV The race will be broadcast live on Eurosport 2 and DAZN.
QUOTES “The break was important for recovering physical and mental energy. I found the team to be very proactive and responsive in tackling this final stretch of the season. We must approach the challenging month that begins tomorrow by taking it one game at a time, seeking technical balance with great desire ,” said coach Walter De Raffaele . “With the exception of the home game against Bologna, the team has always put in competitive performances in both the cup and league, but there is certainly bitterness and disappointment at having lost games that could have helped us make a leap forward. Regarding the match in Trento, I would first like to extend my sincere congratulations to the Trentino club as a whole for winning the Cup. They are a club that has been at the top for years, with planning. From a technical standpoint, we will face a highly talented opponent whose one-on-one play and athleticism are their greatest strengths.”
