ferrara basketball
87
Gardonese
77
BASKETBALL: Bellini 1, Romondia 1, Cattani 1, Drigo 6, Kuvekalovic 8, Sankaré 9, Porfilio 8, Yarbanga 8, Guerra 14, Cecchetti 11, Ballabio 18, Marchini 4. All. Benedetto.
GARDONESE: Morigi, Markus 6, Davico 25, Poli, Dalcò 11, Grasso, Motta 16, Olivieri, Basso 5, Graziano 7, Airaghi 7. Team Perucchetti.
Partials: 24-25; 48-32; 59-56.
Ferrara suffers, fights for forty minutes and in the end takes home a very important game one, against a really grumpy Gardonese who were able to come back from -16 at the interval, making the recovery harder than expected for the white and blues. Moments of spectacular basketball in the first half, then a second half of pure suffering, in which Ferrara proves that he can handle the pressure and brings home a fundamental success. It’s a start in which the attacks prevail over the defenses, Gardone rides Davico and Motta while Ferrara relies on Kuvekalovic and Ballabio: in the 5th minute it’s 14-15, then the guests find two important baskets scored by Dalcò for the +5.
Very high percentages for the Brescians, while Ferrara instead struggled to impose itself in defense: the biancazzurri did well to stay in contact thanks to the penetrations of an inspired Ballabio (21-22). It was known that Gardone was a grumpy opponent, and the first ten minutes of the match confirmed it: Benedetto’s men, however, withstood the blow and tried to give the first ‘outburst’ of the match with the energy of their young players, Yarbanga above all (34 -27). Sankaré scores from the arc with the help of the scoreboard for the Biancazzurri’s +8, Ferrara takes control of the inertia of the match and the Bondi Arena becomes bedlam: ‘showtime’ by the Este family and in an amen they fly to +17 in a really warm environment.
The start of the second half is a Brescian one, in the 3rd minute Gardone gets back to -8 but then Ballabio takes care of putting things back in their place: five points in a row from the blue and white elf and a new +13 in the 24th minute. Motta takes his shoulders and at the siren of the third set there is still a game, because Ferrara squanders the first-half advantage and finds himself only three points ahead. Seven consecutive points from Guerra and the blue and whites get some oxygen, but Gardone relies on a sensational Davico to stay in the wake: the tension is sky high, the Bondi Arena pushes their favorites, who in the final find good solutions from inside the box area and achieve a very precious success: on Sunday in Gardone the first opportunity to close the score.
Jacopo Cavallini
