The salvation round starts on Sunday, anyone who stops is lost. And 21 days after the clash of the “clock” phase, Hdl Nardò Basket will find Moncada Energy Fortitudo Agrigento on its path. In the meantime, the Sicilians have snatched a place in the survival pool at the last minute by winning the “play-off” with Orzinuovi. The initial ranking of the group does not help them, because to maintain the A2 they would have to recover 10 points at Toro and at the same time keep Chiusi and Roma behind them. A crazy undertaking, an extremely difficult prospect, which the blue-and-white team however will not leave unexplored.
In the “clock” phase Fortitudo di Sicilia won just 2 games out of 10 (with Bologna and, indeed, Orzinuovi). Traveling with an average of 72.8 points scored and 82 points conceded per game, shooting 45% from 2 (no one has done worse) and 37% from 3 (which is actually among the best). The individual statistics reward Lorenzo Ambrosin with 17 points and Jacob Polakovich with 10 rebounds on average per game. On the bench, the Valle dei Templi club recalled Damiano Pilot a few weeks ago, the youngest coach in the category, who was replaced by Marco Calvani for 11 games. The expectations at the beginning of the season were perhaps a little more ambitious, having played in the playoffs last year, but this is another of the many victims of an A2 team with a very high level. The roster includes important players such as Lorenzo Ambrosin, Alessandro Sperduto, the Italian-Argentine Augustin Fabi and the captain Albano Chiarastella, born in 1985, in his eleventh season in Agrigento. Jacob Polakovich and Dwayne Cohill are the two Americans, Emanuele Caiazza and Davide Meluzzi are two very interesting young people.
Nardò and Agrigento are at their third seasonal meeting. This year they have already competed in the Super Cup, in September. At the Palamoncada in Porto Empedocle the Granata prevailed 57-64 at the end of a hard-fought and difficult match, the first official match of the season. Then, as mentioned, Hdl and Moncada Energy competed again last April 14th in Lecce, for the “clock” phase. Toro did an encore by winning 89-76, led by the two Americans Smith and Stewart jr. in the “Martians” version (57 points in two). A budget that inevitably gives rise to hope. Nardò-Agrigento, therefore, will be played on Sunday 5 May at the Pala San Giuseppe in Lecce. Tap-off at 8.30pm. The referees designated for the match are Lorenzo Lupelli of Aprilia (Lt) and Umberto Tallon of Bologna (Bo). The designation of the first referee of the match is still missing.
