Trento dreams, Virtus Bologna fears a nightmare: Massimo Cancellieri puts his hands up
Dolomiti Energia Trentino and Virtus Olidata Bologna will face each other Sunday afternoon in a Game 4 of the playoffs that could present a historic result for Italian basketball. The boundaries of which would translate into a dream for Trento, while for the Vu Nere it would be a waking nightmare. Both know it, and in fact Massimo Cancellieri has already wanted to put his hands widely forward.
The statistics speak for themselves: Trento will play at home the new challenge in a series it is already leading 2-1 against Virtus Bologna. As it happens, however, Italian basketball’s Serie A has only once in its history seen the league’s eighth-place finisher eliminate the team that had instead qualified in first place in a direct clash. It happened in 1985, when Pesaro eliminated Roma 2-1 in the days when, however, the round of 16 was being played. Since the playoff formula instead provides for the passage of the round at the best of five games, it has never happened yet.
“Race 4 will certainly be different than the three we have already played,” Coach Cancellieri has already wanted to emphasize. “I expect to see from Trento the humility and intensity we have seen in the last two, trying as much as possible to dirty Virtus Bologna’s shots. We have to play the game all the way and, when it is over, we will be able to say that we have really changed our destiny. Now we are just ahead in the series, which remains best-of-five.”
In Game 3, staged Friday night at PalaTrento, Aquila dominated from start to finish, overwhelming the Italian champions 102-85. The hosts had already closed the first half on 51-38, then ramped up in the second half to touch a maximum lead of 26 points. Among the evening’s stars were Steward’s 21 points and Jogela’s 18, while for Virtus the best was Niang with 17 points. A result that followed the victory of Game 2, when Trento had already conquered the Bologna court 84-87 in a game that remained in the balance for a long time.
On the other hand, coach Nenad Jakovljevic did not hide after the heavy knockout of Game 3: “I congratulate Trento, which has over-deserved. We have to file right away and think about the next game, where we will have a chance to show who we really are. Defiance? Surely something happened, we have to resolve it among ourselves within the four walls of the locker room, we have to tell it like it is. And they are not good.” The Serbian coach added, “I remain optimistic, I never give up. We never give up and we will do everything to win, we have a sacred duty to society.”
The situation in the Virtus household is further complicated by the absence of Derrick Alston Jr. one of the most fit men in the early stages of the series. The American, author of 21 points in just 19 minutes in the victory in Game 1, has suffered a dislocated fracture of the third metacarpal of his left hand and his return in this post season appears virtually impossible. A very heavy absence for the Vere Nere, considering that he had been averaging 12.6 points on the season with 57.4 percent from two and 42.4 percent from distance.
Making this series even more emotionally charged is the fact that Game 4 will in any case be one of Cancellieri’s last games on the Aquila Basket bench. CEO Andrea Nardelli had revealed that as early as February the coach had communicated his decision not to renew at the end of the season, with his name being mentioned by clubs in Turkey, Greece and Spain. Cancellieri himself had commented, “Aquila Basket and the city of Trento will always have a special place in my heart. Whatever path life holds for me in the future, I will always remember that Trento was the first to give me confidence. But first, we will do everything to give ourselves something to remember.” A farewell announced, then, that turns every possession of this series into something even more precious for everyone.
