Reggio Emilia wins 88-69 in front of its fans against Bertram
UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia – Bertram Derthona Tortona 88-69
(20-14, 48-29, 70-52)
Reggio Emilia: Barford 23, Thor 7, Rossato, Woldetensae 3, Caupain 17, Williams 5, Uglietti 16, Carboni, Severini 5, Echenique 12, Vitali, Emokhare. Coach: Priftis.
Tortona: Vital 13, Hubb 4, Gorham 4, Manjon 3, Pecchia 7, Chapman 2, Tandia NE, Baldasso 10, Strautins 14, Olejniczak 10, Biligha 2, Riismaa NE. All. Fioretti.
Referees : Rossi from Arezzo, Borgioni from Pisa, Galasso from Siena.
It was a tough Sunday for Bertram Derthona Tortona, who couldn't bounce back from last week's home loss to Virtus Olidata Bologna. In their away game at the PalaBigi, UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia prevailed, prevailing 88-69 over the Bianconeri.
Derthona's best scoring performances came from Arturs Strautins (14 points with 3/3 from the arc), Christian Vital (13 points), Dominik Olejniczak (10 points and 8 rebounds) and Tommaso Baldasso (10 points), but they weren't enough to secure victory in the penultimate away game of the Regular Season.
Reggio Emilia is relentless at the PalaBigi
Bertram's game began with a sprint to the basket by Christian Vital, who opened the scoreboard for the Bianconeri. As time passed in the first quarter, however, UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia's offensive confidence began to emerge, reaching an eight-point lead (20-12) after an alley-oop between Riccardo Rossato and Jaime Echenique. Derthona closed the gap with Andrea Pecchia's buzzer-beater to bring it to within six (20-14).
Bertram's shooting struggles continued to begin the second quarter, while Dimitris Priftis's team extended their lead to 13 (31-18) with seven minutes to play following a three-pointer by Troy Caupain. The pace picked up as the quarter progressed, with Brekkott Chapman's dunk attempting to spark the Bianconeri's attack. Bertram's attempts, however, were unsuccessful: at halftime, Reggio led 48-29.
Out of the locker room, Dominik Olejniczak scored Bertram's first points of the second half. Within minutes, however, the home team restored their lead to 22 points (56-34), led by Jaime Echenique and Jaylen Barford. Captain Baldasso scored from beyond the arc with an extra free throw, but it wasn't enough to get back into the game, with Bertram entering the fourth quarter down 18 (70-52).
The red and whites' offensive push continued in the final ten minutes, led by the Caupain-Echenique duo. With 4:30 remaining, Vital's block and Strautins' subsequent three-pointer brought Derthona back to within 17 (75-58). After the final buzzer, the score was 19 points (88-69). The black and whites will return to the Nova Arena for their final home game of the Regular Season against Germani Brescia, scheduled for Sunday, May 3rd at 17:00 PM.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ciamillo-Castoria
