A long journey to begin a long journey: Baglietto Derthona makes its debut in Latvia in the BKT EuroCup
Baglietto Derthona Tortona's first ever adventure in the BKT EuroCup kicks off with the longest away trip of the regular season. More than 2250 kilometers separate Tortona from Riga, the capital of Latvia, where tomorrow at 6:00 PM Italian time (7:00 PM local time), the team coached by Mario Fioretti will face Riga Zelli in the opening day of the regular season in Group A, aiming to qualify for the top four teams that will advance to the playoff series at the end of the 14-game schedule. The match will be played in the imposing Xiaomi Arena, with more than 11,000 seats, the EuroCup home of the Latvian club, which will be playing in a European cup for the first time after accelerating since its founding in the summer of 2023, becoming the first Latvian club since 2015 to play in Europe's second-largest club tournament. The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sport Arena and streamed on Now.
How do the two teams arrive?
Last Sunday, Derthona sealed the opening day of the LBA Serie A SisalClub against Tezenis Verona on home soil at the Nova Arena. The victory demonstrated the team's excellent basketball chemistry, with the team scoring just over 100 points (101-93) and setting two new Serie A club records: 75% two-point shooting and 67.2% overall from the field. Dante Maddox stood out on offense with 23 points in 25 minutes. These team numbers helped them make up for the visitors' strong offensive rebounding deficit and a defense that wasn't always watertight. For the trip to the Baltic Republic, the Lions will also be without Paul Eboua and Edoardo Di Meo, who missed the trip due to well-known injuries that prevented them from playing in both the LBA Super Cup semifinal and against Verona.
Riga Zelli is coming off a brace of road wins in Estonia in the first two close rounds of the Latvian-Estonian championship, last Friday's 94-71 victory at Keila and the following day's 79-73 victory in Tallinn against TalTech/Alexela. Coached by Rokas Kondratavicius, former Treviso scoring guard Tony Perkins (leading his team with 45 points) immediately stood out in the opening games. He is the most important player on the outside line, along with point guard Benjamin Shungu. Meanwhile, big man Tyler Wahl, who pairs with Isaac Johnson under the basket, has strong prospects in the big man department. They are joined by a "gang" of aggressive Latvian players with size and attacking spirit, with Martynas Varnas, Janis Berzins, and Ivan Tkachenko providing three-point threat. This is a dangerous lineup that can both open up the floor and attack the paint in a variety of ways, playing a modern and lively style of basketball.
Declarations
Coach Mario Fioretti: "A special match for both teams, both making their EuroCup debuts. Riga is a talented team, with many versatile players who can play in various positions on the court. We're coming off a victorious home debut in Serie A, so we're heading to Riga with great enthusiasm to immediately play a solid away game—as is always important in the cup—with clear objectives on both offense and defense. We want to make progress on defense and put more energy into rebounding on both ends of the court. We hope to continue the good flow of play we've had so far."
Captain Andrea Pecchia : "It was important to get off to a good start in the league, and now we're starting our journey in the EuroCup, a very difficult and demanding tournament because, between the league and the cup, we'll always have to be ready to give our all. Compared to previous years, this season is even more competitive, with four groups of eight teams against very strong opponents. We'll have to be ready every Tuesday and Wednesday to give our best. We're currently examining several aspects of Riga Zelli, but at the start of the season, the key is to focus on ourselves and on what we can improve. We played a great game offensively against Verona, but we still need to improve a bit on defense, and we're working on that. We know Riga is a tough team at home, and they play tough basketball. We'll try to arrive with the right intensity."
