Solid, courageous, ruthless: the Cremona freshman celebrates their salvation by tripping up league leaders Brescia and serves a platinum assist to their pursuers Bologna and Milan who can thus reach Germani at the top of the standings if they manage to beat Scafati in the twenty-eighth round ( Olimpia) at the Forum (in the next round there is Milan-Brescia) and Reggio Emilia (Virtus) in the derby scheduled for Monday.
In the Lombard derby, Cavina’s quintet holds the reins of the match from first to fortieth, reaches a double-digit lead five minutes from the end and resists the Leonessa’s comeback attempt which instead ends up mauled by a masterful collective performance from the hosts , even without the injured Denegri. Super performance for Cremona from Eboua (21 points) and Pecchia (16), on the other side 17 from Gabriel and 16 from Della Valle.
Tortona is approaching the playoffs and crushes Pesaro’s resistance after the first two quarters of substantial balance. Baldasso the star performer among the hosts: 23 points (season high) with 6/10 from beyond the arc and 4 assists for the former Olimpia Milano player who at the end of the match said: «I wanted to make amends for that wrong free throw in Trento which is there cost the match, thanks to the help of the coach and my teammates I succeeded. Now let’s think about making the playoffs.”
An opportunity that the Piedmontese will be able to seize by hosting Virtus Segafredo Bologna in the next round, also because the home parquet has become a fortress: the victory over Carpegna is the eighth home game in a row for De Raffaele’s quintet, beaming at the end of the match . «Pesaro was a dangerous opponent, we contained them well and I’m happy for all the open shots which demonstrate how fluid our game was».
Five men in double figures for Tortona: in addition to Baldasso’s 23 points, worth mentioning are the performances of Dowe (13), Severini (12), Weems (12 and 8 rebounds) and Obashoan (14 and 8 rebounds) in a setup lacking the ‘Kamagate injured. For Pesaro, a defeat that brings them closer to relegation: McDuffie’s 22 points and Cinciarini’s energy (14 points and 7 assists) were not enough to keep Sacchetti’s team afloat, which sank after the break.
Results (twenty-eighth day).
Bertram Derthona Tortona-Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro 94-76
Vanoli Cremona-Germani Brescia 84-77
The shift ends tomorrow: Banco di Sardegna Sassari-Openjobmetis Varese; EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-Givova Scafati; Umana Reyer Venezia-Nutribullet Treviso; GeVi Napoli-Dolomiti Energia Trentino; Estra Pistoia-Happy Casa Brindisi; Virtus Segafredo Bologna-UnaHotels Reggio Emilia (Monday 22nd).
Classification. Germani Brescia* 40; Virtus Segafredo Bologna, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 38; Umana Reyer Venice 34; Unahotels Reggio Emilia 30; Estra Pistoia, Dolomiti Energia Trentino, Bertram Derthona Tortona* 28; GeVI Napoli Basketball Naples 26; Banco di Sardegna Sassari, Givova Scafati, Vanoli Cremona* 24; Nutribullet Treviso, Openjobmetis Varese 20; Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro* 18; Happy Casa Brindisi 16. (*one more race)
Tags: LBA Cremona defeats Brescia Tortona sees playoffs
