A brilliant Bertram takes the lead in the Champions League group: Manresa dominated at PalaEnergica
Bertram Derthona – BAXI Manresa 102-85
(30-16, 55-38, 80-59)
Scoreboards:
Bertram: Zerini ne, Vital 28, Kuhse 4, Gorham 16, Candi 4, Denegri 7, Strautins 22, Baldasso 2, Kamagate 14, Biligha, Severini ne, Weems 5. All. De Raffaele.
Manresa: Ohams 4, Vescovi 12, Jou, Steinbergs 9, Sagnia 4, Saint-Supery 5, Alston 4, Hunt 7, Obasohan 18, Brimah 2, Perez 8, Cate 12. Coach Ocampo.
Referees: Zurapovic (BIH), Salins (LTV), Yilmaz (TUR).
Bertram Derthona takes the lead in the Champions League group. This was certified by the clear victory in the clash with the other undefeated team of the first round, BAXI Manresa, in the second day of Group G played on the home parquet of the PalaEnergica Paolo Ferraris. The final +17, breaking the 100 mark for the second time this season, says a lot about the complete domination over the Spaniards by Walter De Raffaele's team, who flew away with a double-digit lead from the very beginning and never recovered with a show of strength that left no escape for the opponents of the former Obasohan - warmly welcomed back by his old fans - and Hunt.
To direct the game Bertram takes practically two and a half minutes, the time needed for baskets by Vital and Strautins and a great defense to create a deadly 14-0. The Spanish pivot Cate tries to get Manresa into the game but the Latvian-New York duo continues to get the better of their opponents with their shots from beyond the arc, all of them also the first 22 points for Tortona for the new +14 after seven minutes, 22-8. The music does not change in the second period, despite the prevalence of offensive rebounds by Manresa (17 total) and a few too many turnovers Derthona continues to depopulate, Vital (19 points at half time, 28 at the end with 5/8 from three and 31 evaluation) and a very concrete Gorham (6/7 from the field, 25 evaluation) package the 53-29 of the 18th minute. The Iberians have the first real reaction with a 0-9 counterbreak but Candi's basket at the buzzer sends Tortona to the long break with a +17 more in line with the one-way trend of the first half.
At the start of the second half, the devilish Vital also sets up Kamagate for a highlight-worthy alley-oop that makes the PalaEnergica explode along with Strautins' triple that sets the maximum advantage of the Lions at 73-46. Denegri gives further energy in the control room to maintain the wide advantage even at the last mini-break, Manresa tries to sew it up but Strautins (4/5 from three) forcefully pushes it back and only Obasohan's baskets and a couple of triples at the end by Hunt make the deficit less heavy for the guests in view of the double confrontation.
Having forgotten the home defeat against Trieste in the best possible way, Bertram now has three consecutive matches away from home on the horizon. We start with the away matches in Serie A next Sunday against Virtus Segafredo Bologna at 18:15 at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno and on Saturday 26 October against Trapani Shark at 19:30 in Sicily, before closing the first half of the Champions League on Tuesday 29 October at 21:30 with the challenge in Lisbon against Benfica, Chemnitz's opponent tomorrow night in Germany in the other challenge that closes the round of Group G.
STATEMENTS “We played really well, we had lost the last one at home and we wanted to show that we were a better team than the one we saw against Trieste, in a really tough competition like the Champions League.", the words of the American guard at the press conference Christian Vital. "We started off on the right foot and I think we showed the basketball we are capable of playing.”.
“I agree with what Chris said, we had the right approach to the match, responding with the right physicality to an opponent who put pressure on both sides”, the coach's comment Walter De Raffaele. “I'm happy for the players, we were solid on the pitch for the entire forty minutes and everyone contributed: it was a really important victory for this very reason, because it was a team victory”.
