BERTRAM TORTONA 78
GERMANI BRESCIA 85
(23-29;22-20;21-15;12-21)
BERTRAM TORTONA: Kuhse 17, Vital 6, Strautins 8, Severini 11, Kamagate 8, Baldasso 10, Gorham 7, Weems 6, Biligha 3, Denegri 2, Candi, Zerini ne. Coach: Walter De Raffaele.
GERMANI BRESCIA: Ivanovic 17, Della Valle 14, Rivers 11, Ndour 8, Bilan 10, Burnell 12, Dowe 8, Mobio 3, Cournooh 2, Ferrero none, Pollini none, Tonelli none. Coach: Giuseppe Poeta.
REFEREES: Lanzarini, Paglialunga, Catani.
Germani wins and convinces, beating PalaEnergica Ferraris against a tenacious Bertram Tortona.
Not even having time to sit in the stands before Bilan, skilled in exploiting the space granted by the home defense, opens the ball with a powerful double-handed shot. Tortona, carried away by the warmth of its audience, relies on the individual initiatives of Kuhse, authentic metronome of the Piedmontese, and Severini, sharp and solid in his task. However, Germani maintains the inertia in its favor, thanks to the charisma and concreteness of Bilan and captain Della Valle. The hosts increase the pace of the offensive maneuver and the tonnage under the boards, where Weems and Gorham are annoying in the blue and white eyes, but Cournooh and Dowe’s energy give Brescia the advantage at the first siren.
The second quarter was punctuated by Biligha and Gorham’s baskets. Rivers disagrees and, in the blink of an eye, scores a 0-5 run, forcing coach Walter De Raffaele to request a timeout. When hostilities resume, Weems, Gorham and Baldasso charge forward, hitting the opponent’s basket several times and bringing the deficit back to two points. Ivanovic keeps Germani afloat, but coach Giuseppe Poeta, with the intention of adjusting the shot, suspends the clock. Brescia regains oxygen with an impeccable turn from the line by Della Valle and through a dunk by Ndour, assisted by Bilan’s kiss. Germani withstood the shock wave of the Lions and returned to the locker room with a treasure of four points.
The start of the third quarter of the game sees Severini score a triple. Brescia does not get upset and continues to express its basketball on both ends of the pitch. Bertram increases the volume in the attacking area, looking for internal solutions for Kamagate, who is good at evading Ndour’s marking. Brescia accepts the challenge with a knife between its teeth. Strautins, thanks to a generous technical foul given to coach Giuseppe Poeta, overtakes with the white and blue technical staff to recall the team to the bench. Burnell tries to shake things up, impacting the result, with the help of Della Valle. Baldasso and Severini take a lead and Bertram is ahead by two points at the penultimate siren.
The last ten minutes are a whirlwind of emotions, in which every ball burns and weighs. Ivanovic and Burnell decide to take the lead, proving to be two real thorns in the Piedmontese side, giving Germani a new advantage. However, Kuhse is far from raising the white flag, responding blow for blow to his rivals’ points, as does Strautins, cold from the line. Every possession is decisive and it’s all played on the razor’s edge and tension. Bilan gives Brescia a three-point lead, one minute from the end, thanks to a superbly crafted basket. Della Valle and Rivers, however, have their nerve on the charity line and Germani gets Bertram’s scalp.
