Basketball, Serie A – Tortona beats Cremona and goes to the Final Eight, Keene launches Varese’s comeback against Venice with 27 points

Bertram Derthona Tortona – Vanoli Basket Cremona 97-92

Tortona pockets the ticket for Pesaro too without Mike Daum, crippled from a bad fall after a few minutes. It does this with a great offensive match in an overall evening with a very high score, and collecting consistent contributions from the entire front-court. Stimulated by the challenge with the explosive Malik Dime, Tyler Cain dominates the varnished, writing his own season-high (21 points, one less than his career high in Serie A) with 8 rebounds. Jalen Cannon, returned from the stop for covid, covers his back in an excellent way: 11 points (career-high) with a series of plays of pure energy decisive at the beginning of the fourth period. AND Luca Severini (8), called to a dose of extra minutes, piles up a series of small things that are very important for the final result, starting with those two consecutive triples with which he builds the first mini-break in the second period.

The real shoulder comes at the start of the third quarter. Tortona returns to the field from the locker rooms, approaching the game better and showing off a defensive intensity failure in the first half. The result is immediate: partial of 16-4 in five minutes for the 63-52 of 25 ‘. It seems over, but Cremona dances on the abyss magically maintaining the balance. Thrust from the best Peppe Poet of the season (10 points, 6 assists), from the garra of David Cournooh (20 points, season-high) and a space evening of Matteo Spanish (21 points, career-high), protagonist of a long series of extraordinary offensive plays, Vanoli comes back and puts her head ahead 4 ‘from the siren.

• Tortona: Wright 14, Macura 14, Sanders 14, Daum, Cain 21; Filloy 13, Severini 8, Cannon 11, Tavernelli 2, Mascolo. Ne: Rota, Mortellaro. Coach: Ramondino.
• Cremona: Spanish 21, Pecchia 6, Harris 7, Tinkle 11, Dime 8; Poet 10, Cournooh 20, Sanogo 4, McNeace 5. Ne: Agbamu, Vecchiola, Gallo. Coach: Galbiati.

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Openjobmetis Varese – Umana Reyer Venice 76-68

By Marco Arcari. Great victory, of heart, pride and attributes, for the Openjobmetis Varese, that comeback from -15 and, dragged by triple by Marcus Keene (27 points with 6/8 of three) stops the race of Venice towards the Italian Cup Final Eight. For the orogranata a heavy ko, the 6th out of 8 trips seasonal, which could definitively preclude participation in the national cup. Reyer approaches the match with one 0-5 which seems to portend a very complex evening for the hosts; the red and white instead rely on the ability he has Alessandro Gentile in creating from the lower-middle post, even if it is Paulius Sorokas to make a difference with good individual plays. The 3/19 from the field, however, cannot reward Varese, although at least the triples are well-constructed shots, also because the penetrations of Stefano Tonut they are not properly countered. Guglielmo Caruso dominates in rebound, but in close range duel with Mitchell Watt collects post-low lessons, and so the orogranata stretch on +5 (14-19) a fine 1° quarto.

The Openjobmetis struggles a lot to find rhythm in attack (8/35 halfway through the match) and argues with the basket even when the clock is stopped, especially with Gentile: the red and white factotum closes the 1st time with 5/10 in the bezel, even if he seems to be the only home player capable of systematically troubling the visiting defense. Venice instead exploits a Michael Bramos in the guise of assist-man added and the Sanders-Vitali couple to stretch on the +12 (28-40) at 20 ‘of play. Watt takes the chair in the 3rd quarter, but it is more there lack of a role center red and white to make the difference, with only Guglielmo Caruso who does not seem to be enough at these levels. In fact, Varese suffers tremendously from the game in post also of Martynas Echodas and slips on -15 (35-50).

Keene, however, becomes the protagonist absolute, between the 3rd and 4th period, taking advantage of an incredible confidence with heavy shooting. The red and white playmaker signs a sumptuous 4/4 from beyond the arch of 6.75 and Openjobmetis builds an overall break of 15-1 between 30 ‘and 34’, incredibly putting back – for how the match was evolving – the head forward (64-61). The plays of Anthony Beane do the rest, also because Reyer gets stuck with a three-point shot (4/24 at the end of the game) and rings well 19 turnovers, compared to only 4 defensive recoveries. The show of the Keene-Beane couple (21 points in the 4th quarter, out of the 27 overall of the hosts) so amply compensates for the difficulties in the painting, with only Caruso being able to battle with long opponents, paying for inexperience and little malice.

• Varese: Gentile 11, Beane 14, Sorokas 12, G. De Nicolao, Vene 8, Librizzi, Virginio ne, Ferrero 2, Caruso 2, Keene 27. All. Serravalli.
• Venezia: Stone 5, Bramos 3, Tonut 13, A. De Nicolao 2, Sanders 10, Phillip ne, Echodas 10, Mazzola 2, Cerella, Vitali 7, Minincleri ne, Watt 16. All. De Raffaele.

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