“We won it with heart and desire”. Coach Antimo Martino dedicates the success gained in the last seconds against Tramec Cento to his players, “because they deserved gratification after 20 objectively difficult days”. In fact, Pallacanestro Forlì 2.015 presented itself in front of the public at the Palafiera after another rather troubled week, with Lorenzo Benvenuti and Daniele Cinciarini not in top physical condition and who recovered at the last minute (in chronological order the injury was added by Franco Flan on Saturday evening).
A match that became complicated along the way, with Cinciarini being sent off for a double technical foul, but coach Martino preferred not to comment on the refereeing decisions: “I’m sorry he came out so early, but in general, losing a protagonist in a big match doesn’t it’s nice”. At the beginning of the last quarter, after 30 rather balanced minutes, Cento had given the impression of making the match his own, taking an 8-point margin, but then Unieuro made up for it until the decisive final seconds: “The turning point was to not give up – Martino’s words -. We wanted to play it until the end and the episodes gave us a hand. We were good, because the game experienced constant balance, except for the first five minutes of the last quarter, during which our opponents built a break with individual plays on the siren”.
The keystone of the match was also a rather rough defense by Pieffe 2.015, who conceded only 62 points to their opponents, replicating Cividale’s performance. As for attacking potential, “it can only improve. If I have to choose, I prefer to have a solid defence.” He weighs a few turnovers too much, especially in the first half: “We have to be less superficial, but in the second half the management of possessions has improved. There is a lack of lightness in taking shots that we had at the beginning of the season”.
Martino then kept reiterating a concept: “During the season we will win and lose, but I guarantee that each of us will always give our best. As I say when we win, even defeats must be seen with the right balance and proportions”. Finally, a joke about the man of the match, Nik Raivio, scorer of 25 points: “He had a good game, but I had faith in him. I told him that if he scored more than 20 points I’d pay him a pizza. I’ve never been happier to pay someone a pizza. But I’m happy to pay them if we always win”.
