BRINDISI – Here we go again. Just enough time to convince himself that Happy Casa is no longer “all a quiz”, but has its own precise identity, that the most sensational of denials arrives from the PalaVerde in Treviso, in the form of another significant defeat (75-68), by a formation of modest technical stature, in the throes of a creeping technical crisis and last in the standings with only two games previously won. The parties on the field, however, have been sensationally reversed. Happy Casa Brindisi seemed mentally in difficulty and recalling its “crisis-saving” team history and the “charity” imparted in favor of Verona, Reggio Emilia, not to mention the last 2 seconds in Milan and the skid against Pesaro, she thought well to switch sides on the pitch by presenting an unjustified tension, resulting in the expulsion of Nick Perkins and with the 4 almost immediate fouls committed by Marcquise Reed. On the other hand, the Treviso team showed strong nerves, which also knew how to react to a difficult first quarter and finished up 16-19, to then reverse the situation in the second quarter, with a symptomatic 24-10 which saw Happy Home in great difficulty in a scary mix of allowed offensive rebounds, turnovers and a mortifying 0/7 in 3-point shooting.
The hunger for points and the “director” Alberto Morea
Happy Casa Brindisi had to evaluate two certainties to face, not who knows what anonymous secrets. Happy Casa was certain it was being awaited at the PalaVerde by a team that was hungry for points to avoid worse ranking consequences, an often decisive condition to be faced with the utmost firmness and concentration, to avoid getting involved and losing one’s goal. With Alberto Morea (in the photo below) assistant to coach Marcelo Nicola, but for years deputy to coach Vitucci, who knows the strengths and weaknesses of Happy Casa, it was foreseeable that he would turn into director, albeit not so occult, of the Nutribullet Treviso and that (second security!) would have suggested and prepared his team’s match by proposing to adopt the “zone” deployment. And so Happy Casa found itself in great difficulty faced with an announced choice, not having the means and ability to successfully attack the Treviso “zonetta”, to which was added, for the occasion, a negative attack which he finished the game with 3/20 in archery, with a percentage of 15 percent that is rarely reported in Serie A (but exacerbated by the absence of Andrea Mezzanotte who could have offered his good contribution in long-range shooting).
The “last minute” Bruno Mascolo
Among the “last minute” difficulties, then, also the unexpected. Until Saturday evening Bruno Mascolo (in the photo below) had had a very high fever so, despite his precarious health conditions, on Sunday morning he boarded the first plane departing from Bari, to join the team just a couple of hours earlier of the start of the game, just long enough to put on the shirt and get into the fray. Probably coach Vitucci should have spared the immediate use of Mascolo, to immediately enter the field in the starting quintet, entrusting the role to Ky Bowman who was in perfect physical condition, except to manage his playing time during the match, in relation to his precarious physical conditions , taking into account that the player had had a high fever until the previous evening. Furthermore, during the match Mascolo remained on the field for a good 32 minutes (7 minutes more than Bowman and the second minute after Jason Burnell’s) with a performance that certainly could not be the one shown in the previous matches, in which he had been the protagonist, while he remained exposed to a modest performance, not useful for the team. A choice that could also be motivated by the absence of Andrea Mezzanotte, but which cannot be explained correctly, albeit in these terms.
Nick Perkins is the symbol of Happy House
If there is a player who currently identifies with the current moment of Happy Casa it is him, Nick Perkins, the most representative player who exalts or grieves with the same naturalness, scoring the team’s performance negatively or positively . Thus from the altar of Trieste he descends into the dust of Treviso, where with great ingenuity and recklessness he indulged in unjustified attitudes which forced the referees to decree first an unsportsmanlike foul and then a technical foul which led to his expulsion, decided at the 28′ on 51-44 with the team making a comeback and the match still to be decided. The club and the president Nando Marino are called to intervene against Nick Perkins and take appropriate measures so that the player can change his attitude, calling him to a greater sense of responsibility towards the club itself, the technical staff, the teammates and of the fans, to safeguard a sporting heritage that is in the history of the city.
The counterpart of the final -1
Eventually the bill was served. Happy Casa, even though Perkins was in the locker room, made an extraordinary comeback with baskets from Ky Bowman and Marcquise Reed, coming close to winning. When there were 6 tenths left in the game, in fact, on 69-68 Ky Bowman (in the photo above) missed the 3-point shot that would have given the victory to Happy Casa and on the next play Jason Burnell was forced to make a bad foul on Adrian Banks heading for a basket, which the referees rightly decerated as “unsportsmanlike”. Then Michal Sokolowski and again Adrian Banks set the final score at 75-68 in a game that started well and ended badly for Happy Casa Brindisi, demonstrating that this was a match decidedly within the reach of coach Vitucci’s team, one of those to win at any cost if only the team had played with the same intensity and the greater concentration due in matches of this magnitude.
