Grit your teeth, trying the outside bang to still hope for fourth place.
The Top Secret is expected tonight (8.30 pm) from the away match in Pistoia against the Giorgio Tesi Group, third in the standings in the green group behind the Udine and Cantù leaders.
Probably the most arduous commitment of this clock phase for the biancazzurri, both for the atmosphere that will await them at Pala Carrara (historical field of the local wedge ball), and for the over-the-top season of the Pistoian team, well trained by coach Nicola Brienza.
Also because Kleb arrives at tonight’s challenge with broken bones, having to deal with a full infirmary that is affecting not just the work in the gym in recent days.
To the injuries of Fabi, Vildera and Campani were added the ailments of Panni and Vencato, battered out of the match with Piacenza but ready to grit their teeth to be there tonight, albeit not in the best of conditions.
But on the other hand, the constant injuries are the “leitmotif” that is accompanying the season of the Este, as unfortunate as they are good at resisting and overcoming any type of obstacle.
The Giorgio Tesi Group comes from the defeat on the Scafati parquet (82-71) but previously had collected seven victories in nine games, relying on the newfound American Jazz Johnson and the extremely flexible British-born Wheatle.
In the control room there is Lorenzo Saccaggi, while under the basket the two longs are the other American Utomi and the former Eurobasket Magro. The young Riismaa, a three-point shooting specialist, goes up from the bench, as well as Del Chiaro and Della Rosa.
“We will face a team in very good shape – said coach Brienza on the eve -, Ferrara boasts the second best attack in the red group and the primacy in the voice of assists, two factors that testify to their quality with the ball in their hands and many weapons. As far as we are concerned we will have to work hard in defense to mitigate their attack, which has the main terminals in the two Americans Mayfield and Pacher: the long one, in particular, represents a real bogeyman being dangerous both in the internal game and out in archery.
The key aspect of the challenge will be the control of the pace, we will have to be good at understanding when to run and when to play defensive games, with the aim of always keeping our offensive terminals warm. “With Chiusi playing away against an injured Cantù from the sensational defeat at Fabriano, Top Secret has a great opportunity to regain possession of fourth place tonight, but coming out of Pala Carrara as winners will not be an easy feat for Leka’s men. on fields like Chiusi and Cento, perhaps once again focusing on the very hot USA couple Mayfield-Pacher. “The Giorgio Tesi Group is an excellent team – said Federico Zampini on the eve -, which only lost six games in the first phase of the tournament and who has now found the American Jazz Johnson, who had been stopped in recent months for doping. I expect a very tough race, especially on a physical level: the Tuscans are a well-structured team in every role, perhaps one of the most physical in the entire A2 championship: watch out for Johnson and Utomi, linked together by the excellent play Saccaggi “.
Jacopo Cavallini
