Pallacanestro Titano San Marino-Dulca Santarcangelo 66-76 (22-26, 40-42, 49-62)
THE SCORESHEET
TITANO SAN MARINO BASKETBALL: Borello 1, Liberti ne, Bomba 11, Cardinali, Botteghi M. 11, Macina 11, Fusco 15, Botteghi T. ne, Felici 17, Guida, Fiorani, Gasperoni ne. Coaches Valentini, Rossini, Ricci.
DULCA SANTARCANGELO: Goi 4, Giovannelli 20, Valmaggi ne, Baschetti, Macaru 9, Benzi 2, Rivali 6, Bedetti 12, Mari 3, Pennisi ne, Frisoni 1, Saltykov. All. Serra, Botteghi, Miriello.
NEWS AND COMMENTARY
Energy, concentration, heart. Three fundamental ingredients to win a derby, mixed to perfection by Rivali and his teammates who bring home, not without suffering, the derby with Pallacanestro Titano in Acquaviva, in front of a warm audience of both fans.
The start of the match was marked by a back-and-forth between the teams: Rivali and Saltykov responded to Fusco for the Angels, then Bedetti placed a surprising one-two with successful penetration and counterattack for the Angels’ first lead (8-10 after 3′ of play ). San Marino tries to reply with Bomba but Saltykov is no different. The Titans equalized at 14 with Botteghi’s triple, but made a mess in attack; Macaru takes advantage of this and sinks two consecutive triples in transition, forcing coach Valentini to time out (14-20 at 6′). Giovannelli and Felici then take over, with the San Marino captain carrying the team on his shoulders. The defenses raise the barricades and load themselves with fouls: the subsequent series of free throws ends the first quarter on 22-26.
The opening of the second quarter is all blue and white with Bomba but Dulca responds in defense, forcing San Marino to slow down the maneuver and challenge the shot clock; Felici continues to score points but Saltykov responds following Rivali’s suggestion. Benzi is careful about the rebound, while San Marino continues to struggle in the construction phase; Santarcangelo takes advantage of it and flies to 26-38 with Giovannelli’s triple. The titans play the zone defense card and come out of the timeout with confidence thanks to the magic of Fusco who then repeats himself on the counterattack and suffers a foul. The usual Felici dangerously brings San Marino closer, who pots the triple of -2 with Bomba (40-42) on which the teams go to long break.
At the start of the third period it is Rivali who is particularly inspired – his magic opens the scoring of the second half – but it is still Fusco who responds to the yellow and blue captain. Saltykov returns to raise his voice so an attentive Goi can take off on the counterattack and make it 42-48. Felici is once again called upon to lend a hand to his teammates but the blaze is entirely clementine which thanks to Bedetti and Macaru allows coach Serra’s team to fly to +10 (45-55). Santarcangelo doesn’t look back but physicality remains the constant feature of the match: after Macina’s basket in traffic another round of free throws opens up before Botteghi writes 49-62 after grabbing an offensive rebound just before the buzzer.
The final period opens on the right foot for the Angels with Giovannelli punishing the area with the jumper in the center of the area. Fusco replies from the line, but it is still Giovannelli in the pivot version who grabs the rebound which scores 52-66. San Marino tightens their defense and tries to dirty the passes; after a timeout, Bedetti resolves the impasse with a spell on the scoreboard. The biancazzurri run for cover with captain Felici on the shields (his points number 56 and 58) but it is once again Giovannelli who grabs another offensive carom, imitated by Botteghi. Again number 4 Clementino earns a precious three-point play that brings the Angels to 72, but Macina responds closely from the arc. Bedetti makes fun of the San Marino defense twice, serving first Giovannelli and then Saltykov in similar situations. San Marino doesn’t want to give up and scores another triple with Macina but it’s too late to close the gap. The final siren rewards Santarcangelo who brings home the long-awaited derby: 66-76 the final score in favor of the yellow and blue.
