Final Eight Coppa Italia, Brescia first semifinalist
Final Eight Italian Cup, Brescia first semifinalist
At the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Germani Brescia won the first quarterfinal of the Italian Cup Final Eight beating Bertram Tortona 86-79 and now awaits the winner between Virtus Bologna and Olimpia Milano.
Ready, start and Tortona immediately pushes over the accelerator pedal, with Candi, Weems and Vital setting the host basket on fire. Germani remains stationary at the post and, some bloody balls lost by the biancoblu, force coach Giuseppe Poeta to suspend time. On the return to the parquet, the music changes: Della Valle and Ivanovic, thanks to some very talented individual plays, and Dowe, energetic on defense, allow Brescia to shorten to four lengths, forcing the Piedmontese to spend a timeout. Kuhse and Vital try to sound the charge, but Della Valle and Bilan are at odds and unleash the overtake with seconds left before the first buzzer sounds.
The second quarter, at least in its most embryonic phase, è featured low pace on both ends of the court, where the points scored came mostly from the lunette. It’s up to Ivanovic and Rivers to shake the environment through two consecutive threes, to which Ndour, triggered by the Montenegrin director, echoes with a support to the backboard for Bertram’s second timeout and Germani’s first double-digit lead. Brescia does not loosen its grip and, dragged by Burnell’s and Rivers’s energy, also aided by the opponents’s low shooting percentages, touches up the discrepancy. However, at the end of the period, a Baldasso prayer is answered and Bertram shortens to nine points at the long break.
At the’beginning of the third half, as expected, comes Tortona’s reaction. Vital and Candi, in fact, punish the enemy defense with two bombs, reducing the gap to five lengths, net of two fine baskets by Della Valle and Ivanovic. Tortona kept itself on the waterline with grit and luck, clinging to the charisma of its core of Italian players, with Candi and Baldasso keeping the HCL hopes lit. Germani floods the shot clock and Bertram smells blood. Kuhse, Baldasso and Gorham allow the Piedmontese to reopen the discussion for good, two lengths behind, sending the verdict back into balance.
The’last fraction of the game è opened with a 0-5 partial by Tortona, along the’axis formed by Kuhse and Baldasso. Germani tries to fight back, relying on Ivanovic’s flair, and though they find themselves chasing, they remain clinging to their direct competitors. Baldasso tries to deliver the decisive shove, but Ivanovic restores the balance via a triple. Kuhse and Gorham hurt the Brescian defense, playing a high-level pick and roll and keeping their heads ahead with just enough to not lose the lead. Here’s Germani at the moment of greatest difficulty; they pull out their claws: Ivanovic and Burnell, thanks to some devastating plays, run over their rivals. Tortona melts away and Brescia, with a final partial of 11-2, snatches the pass for the semifinals.
GERMANI BRESCIA -BERTRAM DERTHONA TORTONA 86-79 (24-21;18-12; 20-27; 24-19)
GERMANI BRESCIA: Ivanovic 20, Della Valle 20, Rivers 5, Ndour 7, Bilan 8, Burnell 17, Dowe 4, Cournooh 3, Mobio 2, Ferrero ne, Pollini ne, Tonelli ne. Coach: Giuseppe Poeta.
BERTRAM DERTHONA TORTONA: Candi 13, Vital 17, Gorham 12, Weems 12, Kamagate, Baldasso 11, Kuhse 10, Biligha 4, Denegri, Farias, Severini, Zerini. Coach: Walter De Raffaele.
REBITTERS: Lanzarini, Paternicò, Valleriani.
