Towards Autosped BCC Derthona-Panthers Roseto: Sara Toffolo's words and curiosities and former players of the race
Autosped BCC Derthona faces its seventh league match tomorrow at home against Panthers Roseto. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM at the Cittadella dello Sport Facility. Orazio Cutugno's team is coming off a key victory at San Martino di Lupari, which followed their win in Battipaglia before the break and propelled the Giraffes to seventh place in the league table. Roseto, for its part, suffered a tough away defeat in Campobasso and—along with Battipaglia and Brescia—is trailing BCC by two points in the standings. This is therefore a crucial match, especially in terms of qualification for the Coppa Italia Final Eight, for Melchiori and her teammates, who will look to build on their positive November run.
FOCUS ON THE OPPONENTS – Roseto earned promotion to Serie A1 last season, thanks to a brilliant and exciting playoff run. The team, led by the confirmed Simone Righi (the youngest coach in the Serie A1 league), retained a key part of the core team that won Serie A2 last year: the Abruzzo roster still includes Beatrice Caloro, Gianella Espedale, Lavinia Lucantoni, and Lucrezia Coser. This summer, the club bet on the return to Italy of Silvia Nativi, fresh from her experience at Northern Colorado College, and on the experience of Giulia Moroni, a point guard born in 94 (the team's most experienced player), who returned to Serie A1 after two years in Serie A2 between Broni and Sanga Milano.
Roseto's main offensive threat is Alyssa Ustby (born in 2002), who is averaging impressive numbers in the tournament (18.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game), followed by Samantha Puisis (the other player averaging 10.1 points), a three-point specialist (almost 10 attempts per game). The foreign player roster is rounded out by Patricia Bura, who provides solidity, and Melisa Verlasevic, who played three consecutive years (from 2017 to 2020) in Italy, between the A2 leagues of Vicenza and Albino and the A1 league of Turin.
THE STATEMENTS – The match was presented by Sara Toffolo: "We've been playing better in recent games. Tomorrow we'll have to be aggressive and consistent for the entire forty minutes. We've seen that when we manage to produce this intensity, we put our opponents in difficulty. Roseto is a tough team. We'll need to be able to stop their transitions and limit their aggression.".
CURIOSITIES AND EX OF THE RACE – Francesca Melchiori (2991) is 9 career points away from 3000 in all LBF competitions and 15 (485) away from 500 in her BCC jersey. Tomorrow's game will be Cornelia Fondren's first at home in a Giraffe jersey.
At the entrance to the Cittadella dello Sport facility, there will be a stand, organized by Confagricoltura Tortona, where it will be possible to purchase anti-violence clementines by donation.
Two former players are in the match, both playing for Roseto: Gianella Espedale was part of the BCC roster from 2022 to 2024, making 31 appearances and contributing to promotion to Serie A1 in 2023/24. That year, Aurora Farabello was added to the first team for the first part of the championship, playing for BCC in Serie B and youth category matches.
WHERE TO SEE IT – The match will be streamed live on flima.tv
