Virtus Bologna dominates Trento: Massimo Cancellieri knows what went wrong
Virtus Bologna dominated Trento in Game 1 of the playoffs, with a 102-71 win that left little room for replication by Dolomiti Energia. And in fact coach Massimo Cancellieri in the post-game reviewed the problems shown by his team, stressing, however, that there is time and a way to remedy them. Provided that the team learns from the mistakes shown in the first challenge against the ‘Black Vu’.
“I told the team that it’s a series, and our task is to impact it,” Cancellieri said in the press room. “Then it’s one thing to prepare a game like that on screen, it’s another to take the court suffering the physicality of Virtus Bologna. This is what happened to us. As long as Trento plays games it has to win, we manage to file them away and move on. Now I will have to talk to the team, because we must not let ourselves be intimidated.”
“There are ways to cope with the physicality of the opponents, but tonight Trento could not find them. They were laced up, so much so that they were able to let everyone score. I think it was a special game for Virtus Bologna,” Cancellieri pointed out before focusing on DeVante’ Jones and the prospects of seeing him star for Trento over the course of the series, “He doesn’t have one problem, he has two. We have to evaluate his use on a game-by-game basis, even if he gave us 10 or 15 minutes at point guard like he did in Milan it would be something crucial for us.”
It should be remembered that Trento’s very presence in these playoffs has been anything but a foregone conclusion. The Bianconeri snatched eighth place on the last day of the regular season, beating Olimpia Milano 84-74 thanks to Bayehe’s 14 points, while Openjobmetis Varese succumbed at home against the same Virtus Bologna. By virtue of favorable direct clashes, Trento thus celebrated access to the postseason, crowning an extraordinary comeback in the season finale that has turned the spotlight on Cancellieri’s performance.
A merit that, paradoxically, may have made the Abruzzese coach’s profile even more attractive on the market, just as the end of his Trentino adventure approaches. In fact, the separation between Cancellieri and Dolomiti Energia had been in the air for months: as revealed by the club’s CEO Andrea Nardelli, it was the coach himself who communicated in February his decision not to renew the relationship at the end of the season. With his name being accosted by clubs in Turkey, Greece and Spain, Cancellieri seems intent on returning abroad, where he has previously coached Limoges, Strasbourg and PAOK Thessaloniki.
On the front of the successor on the Trentino bench, the name that has gained the most ground in recent weeks is that of Alessandro Rossi, 43, who has just returned from his experience in Treviso, which ended with his exoneration in December. Weighing in his favor is, above all, his prestigious resume in the youth sector: last July he led the National Under-20 team to gold at the European Championships in Crete, beating Lithuania 83-66 in the final in what represented the first continental title in the category for Italy since 2013. Other profiles remain in the running, however, including Luca Vitali, a former national team point guard with 149 appearances in the Azzurri who is currently on the coaching staff of Vanoli Cremona.
Race 2 of the series is also scheduled in Bologna on May 19, before the series moves to Trentino for games 3 and 4, set for May 22 and 24, respectively. Cancellieri, therefore, still has a few hours to prepare a response to the lesson taught by Virtus, aware that each challenge could be the last of his adventure on the Aquila Basket bench.
