BASKETBALL
On a spring Sunday, in Sardinia, Pallacanestro Varese shakes off its last doubts and achieves salvation. It would be excessive to define everything as a lively smile: the defense of the category was certainly not the objective at the beginning of the season. However, the vital need to remain in LBA remains, for the Scola project and beyond. So the victory at the home of Dinamo Sassari is welcome, also booed by its fans for the defensive absence that came after the substantial farewell to the playoff objective.
Tom Bialaszewski’s team runs at breakneck speed: 35 points in the first quarter, 64 in the first half, 112 at the end of the game. 16/34 is a science fiction figure when it comes to shooting from the arc, with 24 points from Nico Mannion (double double with 11 assists) and 20 from Hugo Besson. In all of this, perhaps, the happiest news is Leonardo Okeke: 10 points in 19 minutes, a career high in the top flight, first performance in double figures after the terrible injury a year ago in Badalona. “I can only thank my boys who faced the match with the right mentality and determination, doing exactly what we had prepared”, says Bialaszewski with a sigh of relief.
Alessandro Luigi Maggi
