TRIESTE. There was a team that too many, and too hastily, indicated as the main suspect to leave the category. There was a team that aroused skepticism and curiosity because it had decided to put a thirty-year-old on the bench at his first experience as a head coach. There was a team that… «You’ll see, whatever happens, they will have ten points at the end of the season».
There is a team that in its race to safety has sustained two direct clashes, both away, and has won them. There is a team that is now witnessing the discovery of its coach after having won three games in one month and in front of the demanding people of the Forum for three partials they played it on a par with Milan. There is a team that, if they win on Sunday evening, would be closer to the play-off zone than to the relegation zone.
Yesterday and today of Pallacanestro Trieste are all here. And for once, let the facts speak for themselves. The red and whites, after the scalp of Naples a month ago, last Sunday also took that of Reggio Emilia, two very heavy points to chase serenity. The series of direct clashes reserves, from now to the end of the first round, in no particular order Verona, Scafati and Treviso, other pretenders to salvation. Meanwhile, Sunday at the Allianz Dome – by the way, will it be the right time to get back above the three thousand presences? – Brindisi will arrive with the prospect, by beating it, of hooking it at 8.
In Reggio Emilia, Marco Legovich’s team placed the first break and could not be reached again. Rotating 11 players but keeping the defensive pressure constant, Trieste has stemmed the Emilian offensive ends and removed the dreaded Hopkins from the match, one who, moreover, if it’s not in the day, is already good at canceling himself. The red and whites won on the evening in which their best-known player for attacking skills, Gaines, who trained half-service during the week, wrote zero. A rarity for someone who was top scorer in Serie A.
IT COACH After the race, Legovich praised the group. «Real men, a group that is also fine from a human point of view». However, the creator of this group is the youngest coach in the league. He convinced two shooters, Gaines and Campogrande, that if it’s not the evening, you can still contribute to the cause in another way. He managed Bartley’s exuberance, tactically anarchic in the pre-season, making the most of his physical and technical skills but in the context of the team. Result: the “bull” carries the ball if needed, helps to rebound, better selection of conclusions. He trusted AJ Pacher, waiting for him, encouraged him to take on more responsibility and that increased his performance. He worked on Deangeli to give him an offensive dimension and now the captain makes a triple a game without shoveling the basket. He also involved Bossi after Ruzzier’s arrival, confirming his esteem and a role in the group. Finally, what now seems like a mission: to definitely detonate Lever. There is no occasion in which Legovich does not underline that the South Tyrolean has significant room for improvement but he must convince himself of it. In Reggio Emilia Lever was the protagonist in the last quarter by hitting four free throws and going to challenge Reuvers one on one by beating him in the half hook. A nice display of personality. The Pacher-Lever couple together on the parquet, apparently unusual given that they would be the two strong wings of the roster, proves to be an interesting weapon. Compared to Spencer she is more orderly and reliable and compared to Vildera she has more shots in attack knowing how to hit from 6.75.
