With Maxima Roma, Derthona kicks off their all-home October fixture. "We'll show our best side to get back on track."
Derthona Basket will play four games in exactly ten days at the Nova Arena in Tortona, both in the league and the European Cup, to revitalize their progress in both competitions. The four-game series begins against Maxima Roma, continues on Wednesday against San Pablo Burgos in the EuroCup, next Sunday against Napoli, and concludes on Wednesday the 28th against Rostock. The tournament kicks off tomorrow, Sunday, October 18th, at 7:00 PM with the fourth-round match of the LBA Serie A SisalClub against the other newly formed Roman team in the 2026-27 Italian top league.
The race will be streamed live on LBATV.
How do the two teams arrive?
Derthona and Maxima have an identical record of wins and losses in the league and EuroCup. Last Wednesday's 88-68 defeat by Aris in Thessaloniki meant Tortona's second defeat in three cup games, also struggling with a 1-2 record in Serie A after their last defeat in Reggio Emilia (93-86). Maxima, born from the summer transfer of the Pallacanestro Brescia sporting title, began its journey in the top Italian tournament with two defeats against Napoli (75-94) and at home to Virtus Bologna (98-89), winning with a thrill the home derby against BC Roma in the last round (96-95), while in Europe, in contrast to the only home success against Cluj-Napoca (89-55), came the subsequent defeats at home to Turk Telekom Ankara (92-77) and the clear 96-71 last Wednesday against La Laguna in Tenerife, a field and opponent that Derthona also know well having come within a hair's breadth of winning the first leg of the quarter-final two seasons ago in the Champions League.
In the derby match between Alibegovic and Amar on the Juventus side, and Mirza on the Roman side, also a former player of the day, Paul Eboua will make his career debut in an official match wearing the Derthona jersey, returning from the muscle injury that kept him sidelined for a month and a half.
The preview by Iacopo Squarcina
"Being a team that, like us, is coming off a difficult period, it will obviously be a game of nerves, a match in which both teams will be extra motivated due to this lack of serenity, because defeats lead to that ," says Bertram's assistant coach. "Maxima is a team with great talent, with physical size. They have assembled a complete roster at every position. They have players like Miro Bilan, whose pedigree certainly doesn't need to be discussed, and talents like Xavier Moon and Aaron Holiday—the latter making his first experience outside the US after eight NBA seasons—capable of creating for themselves and others."
We'll have to be good at pushing the pace, forcing them to keep up with us, and not giving up physically against an opponent who, even on the outside, has impressive bodies. Overall, all our players need to show their best side, playing to the full extent of our talent and ability. We all want to give more to overcome the last two consecutive defeats, which have left a bitter taste in our mouths, even though they were suffered at the hands of two great teams. We want to return to playing at home to get the league back on track immediately, and play a game with the desire to put the smile back on our faces with a solid and intense performance. The team has always been committed to hard work and never lacks it, and obviously when you win, the smiles get bigger.
Regarding Eboua's contribution after his long layoff, " Paul will obviously bring a boost of energy and athleticism. He's a different big man than Dominik [Olejniczak] , and that can really help the team change the pace with the players coming off the bench."
Info on Sectors B1 and B5 Nova Arena Derthona Basket announces that season ticket holders and ticket holders of Sectors B1 and B5 will be moved to Sectors B2 and B4 for this match. The same will also apply for the subsequent cup match against San Pablo Burgos.
Derthona Basketball Day Bertram's match against Maxima will conclude a Derthona-themed basketball day at the Cittadella dello Sport. At 14:30 p.m., the Nova Arena will also host the home league debut of undefeated Autosped G BCC Derthona, playing in the third-round derby of the women's top-flight championship against Logiman Broni. This comes just days after their EuroCup debut at home to Swiss side Fribourg, which also ended in a 60-71 victory. Season ticket holders of Derthona and BCC Derthona will receive free admission to both games by showing their season ticket at the box office.
Shuttles: As with every Derthona home game, free shuttles will be available to make it easier to reach the Cittadella dello Sport from the Tortona city center. The two scheduled shuttles will depart from the Movicentro near the train station as usual, two hours before the match, at 5:00 PM. They will depart every ten minutes, with the last departure scheduled for 7:10 PM. They will stop in Piazza Allende (on the Corso Cavour side) before reaching the Tortona stadium. For the return journey after the match, the shuttles will depart from the Cittadella at 9:00 PM, with the last departure scheduled for 10:10 PM.
