Fortitudo, the report cards. An excellent Freeman is not enough

There Fortitude says goodbye to the 2023-2024 Regular Season with a defeat: Trapani wins 81 to 69 at the PalaShark. The blue and whites hold out for a while, then quickly fade away in the third quarter and mentally leave the field. After 20 minutes of balance, in fact, the opponents Notae and Horton began to grind out points, and thanks to numerous defensive inattentions of the blue and whites, the granata completed the comeback. Rematch of the Coppa Italia semi-final completed for the home team, who will now face Piacenza in the first Playoff round. Caja’s team, however, despite the debacle, entered the final phase as second in the Red Group standings following Udine’s defeat in Cantù. Inserted in the Silver board. Effe will potentially be able to meet the Sicilians again in the final. The opponent of the first round, however, will be Treviglio.

Trapani’s report cards – Fortitudo 81 to 69

Flats Service Fortitudo Bologna:

• Mark Ogden 15 points (3/8, 1/4) – In the first half of the match he scores continuously, finding his way to the basket even with particularly complex individual actions. He faces doubles without fear, appearing focused and determined. Then, like the whole team, he psychologically leaves the pitch after the break and never returns to the game. He begins to fire blanks, and in defense they soon measure him, sensing his weak points. Stiff and on his legs, even the man is lost when the game is over. Perhaps due to tiredness, or perhaps to conserve strength for the first match against Treviglio. Rating 5.5.
• Deshawn Freeman 13 points (6/9, 0/0) – Painting is his field and he has few rivals in the category. He confirms it once again, making a loud statement against his equal opponents and almost keeping Horton dry, awarded as foreign MVP of the month of March at the start of the match. Despite his good performance, however, the axis with Fantinelli does not always work as it should and Trapani’s defense often intercepts the ball intended for him and takes off on the counterattack. He has no major fault in the defeat: one of the few to continue to believe in it when the retina remains still for entire minutes. He adds 11 rebounds to his performance, 4 of which are offensive, and tries to give a shock to his teammates by capturing second chances. But without great success. Rating 6.5.
• Riccardo Bolpin 12 points (3/5, 1/3) – In doubt at the start of the match, he presents himself in the quintet with all his usual determination. And he responds well on the pitch in the first half, and also partially in the second when he keeps his team afloat in the consecutive series of overtaking and counter-overtaking. Then he gradually becomes less present, allowing himself too many distractions. He loses a bloody ball that makes Caja scream on the bench and appears very far from the rocky and granite defender seen in the golden moments of the season. However, in the Playoffs he will be able to return to his usual rhythm. Rating 5.5.
• Pietro Aradori 10 points (4/7, 0/4) – Starts badly with woods on woods. Caja makes him take a breather on the bench to include him in the second half and the tactical choice works. Partially. It appears cumbersome to operate and less fluid than usual. On more than one occasion he finds the way to the basket only thanks to his unquestionable talent and his magical hands, but some shooting choices are inexplicable forcing. Rating 5.5.
• Alberto Conti 9 points (3/5, 1/2) – Starts the race by getting some basic fundamentals wrong. Then he gets into gear and surprises the Trapani defense with three identical actions in Backdoor cutting from the short side. A smart choice, clearly studied in training, but which he manages to implement well. In the second quarter his action appears unstoppable and he is one of the players who keeps Effe afloat in the score. Then, here too like all his companions, he passes away. Three heavy turnovers are also a boulder that limits the final judgment. Rating 6.
• Matteo Fantinelli 4 points (1/6, 0/1) – Extremely negative percentages, which even if they are not the specialty of the house still leave something to be desired. He is unable to play with the clock as usual and does not lead the team in moments when his usual leadership skills would be needed. For him too, continuous defensive lapses and turnovers in the build-up, even if the 9 assists should not be overlooked. Rating 5.5.
• Alessandro Morgillo 4 points (2/4, 0/0) – Rebound fight and attempt to get noticed is commendable. But on one occasion the ball slips from his hands, on another he misses simple passes from under the basket. Marginal offensive contribution, and negative defensive contribution: when the shooter is lost he does nothing to try to close and keeps his arms low. Rating 5.
• Marco Giuri 2 (1/1, 0/2) – He frees himself from the field but Effe pays a very high price for some of his mistakes. He misses a completely free triple that could have kept the team psychologically afloat. He’s been in Fortitudo for almost a month now and hasn’t been seen or heard from. But yes, there is time. Perhaps. Rating 4.5.
• Alessandro Panni 0 points (0/0, 0/2) – More than marginal role now in rotations. It was said he would help the shooters, but of the two shots he takes, one is on the siren from mid-court and he misses one almost uncontested. He tries to move the ball in the offensive phase in the second half but appears disoriented, less concentrated than tired. Rating 4.5.
• Luigi Sergio 0 points (0/0, 0/1) – Attempt a triple. Tile. Nothing or little more. Not that he has many opportunities for redemption, anyway. Rating 5.
• Vitalii Kuznetsov 0 (0/0, 0/0) – Unrated.

Coach Caja – Anger skyrocketing with his team for some balls lost due to carelessness. He calms down after the match, but his Time Outs are of little use. The team loses clarity and offensive schemes in the second half. However, he praises him for second place in the standings: he knows well that from now on we’ll get serious. Rating 5.5.

Shark drills:

• Jd Notae 22 points (7/10, 2/9) – Rating 7.5.
• Pierpaolo Marini 13 points (3/5, 1/4) – Score 7.
• Amar Alibegovic 11 points (4/6, 1/3) – Rating 6.5.
• Rei Pullazi 9 points (0/0, 3/5) – Rating 6.5.
• Stefano Gentile 7 points (3/3, 0/1) – Rating 6.5.
• Matteo Imbro 5 points (0/1, 1/3) – Rating 6.
• Fabio Mian 5 points (1/1, 1/4) – Rating 6.5.
• Chris Horton 4 points (2/5, 0/0) – Rating 5.5.
• Joseph yantchoue Mobio 3 points (1/1, 0/1) – Rating 6.
• Marco Mollura 2 points (0/0, 0/0) – Rating 5.5.
• Fabrizio Pugliatti 0 (0/0, 0/0) – Without vote.
• Veljko Dancetovic 0 (0/0, 0/0) – Unrated.

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