Tortona and Milan honor the “first” in the Cittadella dello Sport with a highly competitive challenge: the guests escape in the final towards victory
Bertram Derthona – EA7 Emporio Armani Milano 72-85
(20-14, 35-38, 54-58)
Lineups:
Bertram : Zerini, Vital 10, Kuhse 10, Gorham 5, Candi, Denegri 2, Strautins 9, Baldasso 11, Biligha 10, Kamagate 8, Severini, Weems 7. All. De Raffaele.
Milan : Dimitrijevic 9, Causeur 3, Tonut 7, Bolmaro 4, Brooks 10, Leday 8, Ricci 3, Flaccadori 1, Diop 7, Caruso, Shields 15, Nebo 3, Mirotic 8, McCormack 7. All. Messina.
Referees : Gonella from Genoa, Martellosio from Milan, Berlangeri from Milan.
A night that made history for Derthona Basket . Bertram 's third outing of the 2024/25 preseason will truly live on in the hearts of the Bianconeri. The official opening to the public for a basketball game at the Cittadella dello Sport "Pietro e Marcellino Gavio" in Tortona stirred the enthusiasm of Tortona fans in the stands of Walter De Raffaele's team's training facility, facing the three-time defending Italian champions EA7 Emporio Armani Milano . Against this backdrop, the two teams put on a great game, much more than a "normal" test due to the physical intensity and technical quality of their play. In a match that remained closely contested for much of the game, Milan held the lead in the second half, but the home team never let the score slip, except right at the end when a series of three-pointers from Milan opened the gap to a final 13-point lead.
THE MATCH The pre-game was touching with the ceremony naming the court after Luigino Fassino , the unforgettable Derthona manager, with one of his "boys", president Marco Picchi , taking the floor to pay homage to him after the video tribute projected on the big screen and having the sticker on the court with the writing dedicated to him unveiled. The team also honored this start with an exhilarating start, immediately climbing into double-digits with five consecutive points by Weems (17-7) and Vital's triple forced coach Messina to call a time-out as Milan found themselves down 20-7. Brooks gave the visitors a boost with a three-pointer at the buzzer, giving Olimpia a 0-7 run to close the first quarter (20-14). The visitors continued their positive momentum until they overtook (24-25). Tortona responded immediately with two consecutive baskets from Kuhse and Kamagate, but Dimitrijevic began to take control of the game in Milan's direction, Shields scored, and from 30-all, they led to a 0-7 lead sealed by a three-point play from Diop with three minutes left in the second quarter. Tortona increased their defensive aggression and headed to the locker rooms down by three (35-38), despite having shot 16 fewer free throws in the first half, and with De Raffaele applauding his players for their ability to force Milan's offense to often shoot on the shot clock.
In the third quarter the script does not change. Having greeted the presence in the stands of the Olympic volleyball champion Sarah Fahr, EA7 holds the reins of the score but without ever managing to get away, in front of a Bertram that distributes the offensive responsibilities (top scorer Baldasso with 11) and no longer suffers the explosive rebounding of Nebo and McCormack under its own basket. Having started the last quarter ahead by 4 (54-58), Milan's grip tightens, the vision of the game of Dimitrijevic, Mirotic and Shields triggers in three almost carbon copy actions as many threes from the corner by Ricci, Causeur and Tonut that distance the guests for the first time in double figures, who reach the maximum advantage on 68-82 with just over 2' to go that definitively shuffles the contest.
"It was a very useful scrimmage for us, a game with a Euroleague-level physicality ," commented Juventus coach Walter De Raffaele . "It was important for us to understand how to physically impact our opponents, and I must say that all our players showed great willingness to do so. We learned a lot of lessons that we'll take home with us to continue our preparation. It was a wonderful evening with our fans, in this area of the Cittadella, a jewel admired by all. In short, so many great things, and we'll keep working."
