Coach Nicola Brienza’s comments in the press conference after the match between Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù and Verona.
“It was two games in one. In the first there was an excellent Verona, who played at a very high intensity and objectively put us in great difficulty. Adding to this also the fact that we probably thought we were on a prize holiday at Vinitaly, or something like that. But I still reiterate their great merits.
Then we realized that we were in the arena playing and so we changed tone. We were especially good at the end of the first half in recreating an acceptable gap, coming back 11 down. It was fundamental, because that and the break at the beginning of the third quarter created the conditions for us to think about overturning it. In the second half we significantly increased the engine speed and did everything we couldn’t do in the first half, starting with rebounds and loose balls. In the first half we managed to get a bomb from Verona, with a shot from midfield that barely touches the rim and we are there looking at each other, while Penna withdraws from the completely free corner. Clearly, thinking of winning in Verona with that type of attitude was unthinkable and in fact we rightly went 20 down. But at the same time we found a great reaction: we didn’t want to lose and we didn’t accept losing in this way. So I congratulate the boys for their second half, for the energy and intensity they put on the pitch.”
