At Ferrara Basket the moment is positive despite the many physical ailments that are affecting coach Giovanni Benedetto’s team, affecting their level of training during the week. Just over 48 hours before Sunday’s match against Gardonese, the big man Cattani, already out against Oderzo and Pordenone, whose back pain does not seem to be easing in any way, is certain to be withdrawn. The player has already undergone several medical tests, which highlighted inflammation of the psoas, and at the moment it is not yet possible to establish the date of his return to the field.
Cecchetti continues to be managed, struggling with an annoying bursitis, but not in doubt for Sunday as is Porfilio, who has now completely recovered from the ‘outburst’ of about ten days ago. The emergency exists, but the team demonstrated in Pordenone that they are in good form: “We are happy, but we must remember what happened no later than a month ago – the words of the Biancazzurri point guard Riccardo Ballabio –, even in that case we were confident then came the defeats in Gardone and Bergamo which brought us back down to earth. It is not an easy period on a physical level, we are all giving a little more to make up for the problems that prevent us from train fully during the week.”
Ferrara lacks one victory to mathematically grab the playoffs, a declared objective since the beginning of the season: “We’re almost there – continues Ballabio –, our goal is not to settle and once we reach the post season we will have to try to ‘steal’ as many positions as possible, hoping for some missteps from those in front of us. Third place? It’s not impossible.” Gardonese will arrive on Sunday, having put the biancozzurri in enormous difficulty in the first leg: “I expect a different match, also because for them playing away is not the same as playing at home. They will certainly try to put it on the lines of physicality and dirt , we will have to keep our nerves: an important weapon could be the quintet with Kuvekalovic as ‘4’ and Drigo as ‘5’, from which we have already benefited a lot in Pordenone. In defense we were ready despite the size of the big men opponents, and in attack we become very dangerous when shooting from outside.”
Jacopo Cavallini
