Bertram restarts from Udine: "The standings don't reflect their value."
Coming off a midweek defeat against Pallacanestro Trieste, another close game awaits Bertram Derthona Tortona, who will play their eighth-day league match away to APU Old Wild West Udine (live on LBA TV) on Saturday, November 15th at 20:00 PM.
Against Adriano Vertemati's team, this is an opportunity for immediate redemption for the Bianconeri, who on Wednesday evening went from the euphoria of a first quarter in which they had reached +18 to the comeback suffered by the hosts, encouraged by their own fans.
Mario Fioretti during a timeout in Trieste.
How do the two teams arrive?
As mentioned at the beginning, Derthona suffered the second defeat of the championship, again away. 91 - 81 The defeat collected by Israel Gonzalez's team did not allow the Bianconeri to catch up with Germani Brescia and Virtus Olidata Bologna at the top of the table, but they still have a solid 5-2 record.
Udine, however, returned to Serie A sixteen years after their last appearance, with Adriano Vertemati – assistant coach of the national team alongside Iacopo Squarcina – deservingly retaining the bench after an excellent Serie A2 campaign.
Coming back from the defeat for 90 - 85 In overtime on the Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù field, APU is at the bottom of the standings together with Banco di Sardegna Sassari, Openjobmetis Varese and Nutribullet Treviso Basket with a record of 1-6. The only victory in the championship is the 70 - 88 in Sardinia on the fifth day.
APU Old Wild West Udine under the microscope
During the summer, not only Coach Adriano Vertemati remained in Friuli, but also some key figures of the black and white team who contributed to the return to Serie A: Mirza Alibegovic, Anthony Hickey (14.6 points and 5.6 assists on average in LBA), Matteo Da Ros and Iris Ikangi.
During the summer transfer window, Udine strengthened its position by adding DJ Brewton (14.4 points and 5.3 rebounds on average) and bringing former Sassari players Eimantas Bendzius (12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds) and Christian Mekowulu (7.1 points and 4.0 rebounds) to the Bianconeri.
Furthermore, among others, Andrea Calzavara, born in 2001, and former Wurzburg player Aubrey Dawkins have been added to the APU roster. Currently, Udine is the best rebounding team (40.6 per game) and the second-fewest turnovers (10.7) behind only Derthona (10.6) in the LBA.
Andrea Vicenzutto's point
Andrea Vicenzutto, a true Friulian and assistant coach to Mario Fioretti, introduces the match against Udine, focusing primarily on the match against Trieste and also focusing on the unique nature of such a week, which saw the Bianconeri play three games in quick succession.
“Honestly, the first quarter we played was very, very good. It can't be taken as an average of what our game should become: I think such quality and efficiency are something above the norm,” he added.
"Obviously, we lacked a bit of brilliance after that. Unfortunately, we missed some shots, that's absolutely true. What we need to focus on is the fact that, despite an excellent first quarter offensively and defensively, we need to try to be more qualitative defensively," he emphasizes.
"We went to Trieste, which is a very difficult venue, and scored 81 points. It's clear that we can't expect to win every game by 100 points, so we need to be a little better, a little more consistent. Even when the ball isn't going in, we need to be more consistent so as to keep our opponents' game at a lower score."
“This will also be crucial against Udine because we're playing another match in a difficult arena, where being focused and not letting the home team get ahead of themselves will be crucial,” continues Vicenzutto, who also analyses a different preparation compared to other weeks.
“Clearly having to play three matches in eight days gives you the opportunity to prepare for the first one regularly, while for the next two we need to manage both the workload and the tactical part on the pitch, because clearly the time is shorter,” he says.
“But the boys have shown us great attention, they are trying to take all the input we are giving them in order to try to arrive as ready as possible for every challenge even if obviously we have a little less time to prepare,” adds Vicenzutto.
"Compared to what they've brought to the table, Udine has suffered many losses in the final possessions, even in overtime against Cantù; the standings don't reflect what Udine has shown to be the true value on the field. They're a team full of very experienced players who have already played in this championship or in many European leagues," he says.
"Right now, he's not in the position he deserves based on his game, and we'll have to pay close attention for that very reason. They have players who know how to play basketball very well, in a system, coach Vertemati's, that I think can bear fruit over time."
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ciamillo-Castoria Agency)
