A comeback from Leoni in the last quarter: Derthona reaches the playoffs
Bertram Derthona-Allianz Trieste
(24-19, 34-43, 50-59)
Scoreboards:
Derthona: Mortellaro ne, Wright 2, Cannon 4, Tavernelli 2, Fridriksson, Filloy 10, Mascolo 4, Severini 9, Cattapan ne, Sanders 18, Daum 20, Cain 10. Coach Ramondino
Trieste: Banks 22, Davis 15, Clark 2, Konate 2, Deangeli ne, Mian 5, Delia 5, Fantoma ne, Cavaliero 3, Campogrande 7, Grazulis 5, Lever 6. All. Ciani
A great new chapter in history is written by Bertram Derthona, without Macura and who finds Cattapan in the 12, who with the comeback success against Trieste reaches the playoffs in their first participation in the Serie A championship. After a strong first quarter, the Bianconeri they suffered Trieste's initiatives in the central districts before making a dramatic comeback in the last quarter, which was worth the victory.
First half of the game led by Derthona in scoring for its entire duration: the Bianconeri capitalized on good percentages from beyond the arc (4/7) to close the opening ten minutes ahead 24-19. In the second quarter, Bertram suffers a partial score of 0-18 which gives Trieste a double-digit margin (24-37 at 17'): to close it, unblocking coach Ramondino's formation, is a basket from captain Tavernelli. In the last minutes of the first half the home team closed the gap to 34-43.
Upon returning from the changing rooms, Derthona tries to reduce the gap accumulated in the initial twenty minutes, but Trieste continues to play with clarity and keeps its margin unchanged: in the 30th minute the score is 50-59. In the final period, Bertram regains her feeling with outside shots (sequential triples by Sanders, Daum, two by Severini and two by Filloy) are worth the overtaking (68-64) less than five minutes from the end. The mega break of 18-0 turns the match around and places three possessions between the two teams (71-64): Allianz tries a comeback until the siren, relying on Banks and Davis but Severini's triple closes the match, which ends 80-74.
Thus coach Marco Ramondino at the end of the race: “We are really very happy, it was a very tough match that ended in crescendo, a very important aspect of the team's health and confidence. I'm also happy that in the last five games we have won four times, because this certifies how healthy our group is and how lucky we are to have these players with our shirt. We struggled to be disciplined from the first quarter onwards, very frenetic in attack, looking for improvisations. We are a team that does not have defined hierarchies, but we have guidelines that we want to follow during possession: this gave us a sense of approximation and anxiety from a technical point of view, we were more concentrated on what our teammates were doing rather than on what opponents. In the second half we were much more concrete, and in the last period we did very well, the way the team finished, with a great quintet that gave us a greater ability to tighten the field to contain Trieste and great plays in attack. Identifying a single possession or a single player in the final quarter is difficult, this is a very beautiful image. We had already used the big quintet other times during the season, in our injury emergency in the second part of the year Daum was always used as number "3". We were struggling, a high quintet that allowed us to make defensive changes and modify spaces. At the same time I didn't believe we would lose offensive quality. I am very happy for the Club for having reached the playoffs, because it is deserved for everyone's passion, for the resources not only economic but also of participation, energy and presence and for our players, who achieved an important and widely deserved result . Tonight there was a beautiful environment in the arena, we need this support".
