by Simone Casadei
Pallacanestro 2.015 is preparing to welcome Nardò to the Unieuro Arena (two ball at 8pm on Sunday), the first match of a double home round. A match in which the red and whites will try to find continuity of results but also a ‘shock’ in terms of play. Because the last two victories, against Chieti and Ravenna, have not in fact corresponded to very brilliant performances, at least in terms of continuity over the 40 minutes of play. And coach Antimo Martino didn’t hide it.
At the end of the PalaDeAndré derby, the coach highlighted how the team needs to improve in managing the advantage acquired in scoring. Lost balls, possessions that are too ‘speedy’, but also an invitation to give their all throughout the game, otherwise Unieuro tends to get stuck and thus put their opponents back in the running. It is not the first time that Martino has made these complaints. He also happened, for example, on the occasion of the first leg against Ravenna at the Palafiera. And it is not the first time, moreover, that Forlì suffers from a drop in tension when it has the game in hand.
Beware, on very few occasions all this has been paid dearly in defeat. However, Cinciarini and his companions proved to be solid and ready to respond in kind to the attempts of others, without letting themselves be completely overwhelmed. But the flaw exists and, in the long run, it really risks turning out to be ‘heavy’. We need to minimize these dull moments, before it’s too late, to lay the foundations on which to build something important.
Remaining on the recent past, the match on Byzantine land is its emblem. Basketball 2.015 ‘pushes’ hard in the third quarter and flies to +15, with the wind in its sails. In the last fraction, however, he offensively shuts down. The defense held up great, but the first Forlì basket came after a good 4’40” with the ‘usual’ Adrian (all of him only four field goals in the last set). Ravenna thus has the opportunity to get close to -7, with the shot of the potential -5 (missed by Musso) with 1’30” to go. In short, the ending could have been much more peaceful.
If against Turin in the Italian Cup, 10 days earlier, it had been rather a defensive problem (+11 at 8’30” from the siren, but 27 points were conceded in 10′), the problem had instead reappeared in the pre-Christmas match in Mantua . Unieuro puts it in fifth place before the long break and flies to +16 in the 25th minute. In the following nine minutes, however, he scores only 8 points and the Stings are back in contact until -4. Thus Cinciarini and Valentini’s bombs are needed to put an end to the dispute. In the first round it had happened in Rimini (which returned until -1) and against Ravenna itself.
And there is an example to keep in mind, as certainly coach Martino will not fail to point out to his followers. Precisely against Nardò, the next opponent: true, that day Forlì was without Cinciarini and Valentini. But it went from +12 to -5 in a few minutes. Not to mention the following weekend in Ferrara, with Unieuro squandering the +10 at the end of the third quarter to finish three lengths down (17-4 the partial; that time Valentini and Adrian were absent). In view of the challenge at Next and in the context of the group’s growth process, therefore, avoiding excessive setbacks will be fundamental.
