A stoic Bertram plays on par with Trapani, but falls towards the end
2B Control Trapani-Bertram Derthona 84-80
(25-28, 43-47, 65-66)
Scoreboards:
Trapani: Renzi 12, Dosen ne, Artioli ne, Tartamella ne, Miaschi 12, Czumbel, Clarke 29, Mollura 11, Marulli ne, Nwohuocha 4, Ayers 12, Pullazi 4. All. Parente
Derthona: Knowles 12, Tuoyo 18, Alibegovic 21, Blizzard 5, Buffo 4, Ndoja 4, Ugolini ne, Lusvarghi, Gergati 14, Spizzichini 2. Coach Ramondino
Defeat in the sprint for Bertram Derthona, who surrendered only in the final seconds in Trapani: coach Ramondino's team played a leonine match for all forty minutes, leading the match for large stretches. The Bianconeri played on equal terms with their opponents despite the forcedly shortened rotations: Bertram, who went to Sicily without Ganeto and Garri, were forced to give up Spizzichini from the first minutes and Knowles for the entire second half. What made the difference in favor of Trapani in the final sprint were some details that allowed the Sicilians to achieve success. Worth noting is the good contribution coming off the bench from Lusvarghi and Buffo as well as the returning Klaudio Ndoja. The start of the match was characterized by the great offensive quality offered by the two teams, who - thanks to a fluid circulation of the ball - found the basket continuously. Then it is the Bianconeri, who lose Spizzichini after 3 minutes due to a physical problem, who produce the first break in the score with baskets from Alibegovic and Tuoyo (23-16 at 8'): the first quarter ends with the coach's formation Ramondino leads 28-25 over their opponents. Even in the second half the two teams continue to find the way to the basket (35 equal in the 15th minute): Knowles and Clarke are the great protagonists of this partial for Bertram (who also temporarily loses Gergati due to a muscle problem in the 16th minute) and Trapani . In the last minutes of the first half, a great Alibegovic kept the Bianconeri ahead: at halftime the score was 47-43. Upon returning from the locker rooms, Tortona further raises the intensity of its defense, but the opponents are surgical in finding some baskets at the end of 24 seconds which frustrate the efforts of the Bianconeri (also forced to give up Knowles from this period due to a muscle problem ): thanks to these achievements by Renzi and Clarke Trapani remains close in the score (59-61 at 27'). Coach Parente's team found the advantage after chasing for large stretches of the match following a new penetrating basket from Clarke (63-61 at 28'): at the third siren the score was 65-66. Even the opening minutes of the last quarter are characterized by the great balance between the two teams: it is then Clarke and Ayers - with a pair of consecutive three-point baskets - who push the home team forward (78-72 in the 36th minute). Bertram reacts to the moment of difficulty with good defensive intensity which allows the Bianconeri to stay in contact, before finding a new tie at 80 with a triple from Ndoja. After Pullazi's tap-in basket, Trapani's defense forces Blizzard into a turnover: then two free throws from Renzi, following a systematic foul by Tortona, give the home team the victory 84-80.
Thus coach Ramondino at the end of the match: ʺI congratulate our opponents for an excellent victory: our attitude was extremely positive because we want the team to have a common technical language. There is great pride in what we have done and the awareness that, from a technical point of view, we can improve a lot both in terms of execution and defence: although we are an experienced team, we have considerable room for growth. I give huge compliments to my players for their effort and I reiterate those in Trapani because to win tonight they had to play as hard as us. Their ability to produce partials could have put us in great difficulty, because we are looking for certainties: this was not the case, today we lost the game on the details. An unmade cutout, some rotations, details that don't depend on who is on the pitch. We have to play with this toughness and acquire the mindset that allows us to overlook the injury problems. We lost due to mistakes not made by young players: our goal must be to become a team that no one wants to face in this championship. By working with this ability and with better technical executions we can become an important team for the A2ʺ.
