Baglietto suffers a devastating defeat in Thessaloniki: Aris extends its lead in the final stages and maintains its unbeaten record in the BKT EuroCup.
Aris Salonicco – Baglietto Derthona Tortona 88-68
(31-21, 45-44, 62-55)
Aris : E. Mitrou-Long 6, Robinson-Earl 19, Toliopoulos 5, Dimitrijevic 15, Chatzilamprou ne, Morgan 23, Liddell 6, Charalampopoulos 7, K. Antetokounmpo, T. Antetokounmpo, Birch 4, Mokoka 3. All. Spanoulis.
Derthona : Eboua ne, Hubb 3, Gorham 8, Pecchia, A. Alibegovic 4, Bortolani 11, Olejniczak, Maddox 26, Gazzotti, Jallow 7, Durham 9. Coach Fioretti.
Referees : Hordov (CRO), Celik (TUR), Sanchez Sixto (ESP).
After allowing 31 points in the first quarter, they fought back, managed to close the gap several times, and even took a lead early in the second half. However, the final quarter punished Derthona, particularly the final five minutes, which began with a 10-0 run that gave the home team the win. Baglietto's 88-68 scoreline proved too harsh for Aris Salonicco in the third match of the regular season in Group A of the BKT EuroCup, forcing Tortona to its second defeat in the European competition and maintaining the Greeks' undefeated streak.
In front of over five thousand enthusiastic Greek fans at the Nick Galis Hall, the extraordinary performance of Dante Maddox, the game's top scorer with 26 points (10-for-15 from the field, 4-for-6 from three), wasn't enough for the Bianconeri. On the other end, Aris relied on the consistency of a larger number of players throughout the game, led by former Virtus Bologna guard Morgan, supported at the helm by former Milano player Dimitrijevic, and finding the talent of big man Robinson-Earl in and around the paint, who nearly posted yet another double-double this season (19 points plus 9 rebounds). Derthona also suffered 15 turnovers, some of which were painful at crucial moments in the final quarter, plus a few too many rebounds conceded in their own paint after holding their own under the basket.
The match
Derthona initially seemed to be holding their own against the Greeks, at least until Dimitrijevic and Robinson-Earl's efforts gave the Bianconeri the first push, forcing them to call a timeout after just over five minutes due to the home team's double-digit lead, 20-10. Maddox's series of inventive plays (10 points, 2-2 three-pointers at the end of the quarter) kept Derthona afloat, along with Olejniczak's effective intimidation inside his own paint (3 blocks in the first half). However, Aris still found easy points on offense and even reached a 12-point lead, 29-17, after 8 minutes, thanks also to the contribution of newcomer Morgan.
With the first quarter ending 10 points behind, 31-21, Baglietto found a pair of baskets through Alibegovic to close the gap (33-27 in the 12th minute), also significantly decreasing the Greeks' offensive percentages. With a basket and foul from Gorham, Derthona closed the gap to 4 points, 35-31, and even though Morgan and Dimitrijevic got back to work (40-31), Tortona even found the break to tie the score, with Maddox and Durham, combined with Gorham's constant contributions, leading the Bianconeri attack to make it 42-42 with 55 seconds left in the half. The half came with Aris leading by just 1 point, at the end of a second quarter in which Baglietto had a decidedly positive turnaround.
Maddox once again sealed Baglietto's first real lead with a dunk off an Olejniczak backdoor assist in the opening play of the second half, making it 45-46. Morgan immediately put his team back in front with a three-pointer, opening a 7-0 run for Aris, capped by an increasingly unstoppable Maddox. Two more brilliant shots brought his team back within striking distance, 52-51 in the 24th minute. There was plenty of shooting from beyond the arc, with two consecutive bombs from Mitrou-Long and Charalampopoulos giving the more than five thousand Greek fans a boost, making it 58-51 in the 26th minute, the same lead at the final break after Bortolani's successful entrance onto the court, 62-55.
In the opening minute of the final period, Aris regained a double-digit lead with three free throws in a single play, even capitalizing on a technical foul, making it 65-55. Maddox returned to the court and picked up where he left off, making his fourth individual three-pointer to make it 68-64 with six minutes remaining. A series of Derthona turnovers and Morgan's usual two free throws and a steal at midcourt, which ended with a solo fastbreak, put Salonicco back in front at the start of the final sprint, 72-64 with 4'19" to play. Tortona didn't score for over three minutes, and Aris took a double-digit lead again on Robinson-Earl's usual stop-and-shoot in the paint, making it 75-64 with 3'10" to go. Morgan put the final nail in the coffin with just over two minutes remaining with a long-range shot for a new maximum lead, 78-64 (10-0). This was the third consecutive victory for the Greeks.
Baglietto's next cup match is Wednesday, October 21st at 19 p.m. at the Nova Arena against the Spanish team Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos.
The Statements
Coach Mario Fioretti: "We struggled defensively in the first quarter. We started slowly on offense, and that also affected our defense. In the next two quarters, however, we played at the same level as our opponents. It was definitely a close game until the end of the third quarter. We struggled to play offensively toward the end, and our defensive decline meant we ended the game in a really bad way. They're a very, very athletic team with a deep roster. It's not easy to come here and play. Congratulations to Aris. We need to be consistent for more than 30 minutes if we want to compete with opponents like these."
(Photo credit: EuroCup)
