GROSSETO – Gea Basketball Grosseto calls together the “Family” for the most important match of the year. Marco Santolamazza’s boys will play for the qualification to the final of the Regional Division 1 championship against DP Lubrificanti Lucca on Wednesday evening at 9pm, at the Palasport in via Austria. The red and whites, victorious on Saturday evening at the Pala Tagliate by 85-82, at the end of another masterpiece match, made up of great determination, intelligence and heart, want to make the most of the field factor to win the semi-final in two matches, as they did in the quarterfinals against Studio Arcadia Venturina.
“The team is playing on the wings of enthusiasm – says coach Santolamazza – and the mental approach to this match point will be fundamental. We have to stay focused because shooters like Lorenzi and Cecconi can hurt at any moment if we leave them a little room for maneuver.”
In recent weeks, however, Edoardo Furi and his teammates have found the right ingredients to build quality matches, which have put two quintets that in the regular season had had something more than Gea in serious difficulty.
Wednesday evening will therefore be another match full of pathos, in which teamwork and solid defense will be needed to repel the attacks that will come from Libertas Lucca. Without Romboli, out for the entire season, the red and whites will lend a hand to each other to give themselves a final that makes an already positive year extraordinary after access to the playoffs and passage to the semi-finals.
Game 2 will probably be a battle: the Lucca team did not digest the home defeat well, so much so that the sports judge imposed a 170 euro fine for insulting the referees and a two-match ban on coach Romani, guilty of having chased one of the two whistles at the end of the race.
“They got excessively nervous about the defeat – comments the president of Gea, David Furi – They probably believed they could overtake us again, after having won twice in the regular season: they have players from outside, the coach from outside and all the athletes are pay; they are semi-professionals. We have to keep having fun. We are an almost entirely home-made team, which has achieved the objectives it set for itself, salvation and reaching the playoffs and we must play in a serene manner to lay the foundations for a future year.”
“The team has matured – adds president Furi – and is finding certain balances. Let’s carry on like this, knowing that Lucca will come to Grosseto with a knife between their teeth because for them it will be an in or out game. We must face this match with the utmost calm, but also with the attention with which we dueled with Venturina. It will be important to stay focused, very attentive and try to find the right solution during each action. The pressure will be all on their side, even if our team will have to arrive with the right pressure to avoid any lapses in concentration. It will be an unmissable match for our fans, who will surely fill the stands of the Palasport and make their voices heard.”
In the other series, Ineos Rosignano won game 1 at home 96-75 against Donoratico and on Thursday they will try to reach the final away (photo Stefano Venezia).
