Pallacanestro Cantù returns to victory and finds two very important points by defeating JuVi Cremona at the PalaFitLine, 96-92 in the final. The success guarantees Acqua San Bernardo’s return to second place in the standings.
The match
The news (Source Cantù Basketball Press Office) – Two consecutive triples from Hickey break the initial balance of a first quarter which continues for many minutes with a low score, with Cantù who on one hand manages to recover several balls, but capitalizes little in the offensive half of the field. Tarallo’s winning tap-in seems to be able to push Cantù to escape, but in the last 2′ Juvi comes back and returns to just one possession away. In the last possession Berdini burns the siren with the triple which establishes the 23-18 for Cantù.
Acqua S.Bernardo tries to push the accelerator at the start of the second quarter and thanks to baskets from Young and Burns they find their first double-digit lead of the match. After a time-out by coach Bechi, Cremona reacts and, led by Cotton who scored 15 points at half-time, creates a counter-break that allows her to get back up to -1. In the moment of difficulty, the two Americans from Cantù step up their game and together with Nikolic promptly put Acqua S.Bernardo back in command of the match. The two teams go to halftime with Cantù ahead 54-47.
After a start to the second half in which little was scored, Juvi managed to build another partial which allowed the guests to get back to just one possession away. Acqua S.Bernardo finds the way to the basket again by relying on long-range shots, with Burns and Berdini hitting with their feet beyond the arc. Before Sabatino’s final basket which sets the score at 67-63.
The start of the last quarter is a festival of triples, featuring triples from Young and Berdini on one side and Musso and Tortu on the other. However, it is Cantù who extends the lead with a 6-0 from Nikolic and Hickey, increasing his maximum lead to +13. Juvi once again doesn’t give up and thanks to Cotton and Tortu they get dangerously close to Cantù. Vincini impacts the match with 40″ to go. Young is glacial from the line, Medford makes a mistake and Hickey launched on the counterattack closes the game: Acqua S.Bernardo wins 96-92.
Post-race comments
The comment of the first assistant Mattia Costacurta after Cantù’s victory over Cremona. “We knew from the start that it would be a tough match, like the first leg. We played an excellent first half offensively, despite conceding a little too much from 2 points, allowing Cremona to end up in contact at halftime. In the third quarter we were more careful both on one-on-one defense and rebounding. This took us until the mid-third quarter, where we had over ten points ahead. We knew we were playing against a team that is difficult to face and never gives up, and that’s what happened when, with Musso’s bombs and Medford’s initiatives, they did well to get back into the game. At that moment, when it was even more difficult to maintain calm and concentration, we managed to do the right things both offensively and defensively in the last two possessions, managing to take the game home.”
The scoreboard
Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù – Ferraroni Juvi Cremona 96-92 (23-18, 31-29, 13-16, 29-29)
Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù: Solomon Young 28 (6/6, 2/6), Christian Burns 17 (5/9, 1/4), Anthony Hickey 16 (6/11, 1/4), Nicola Berdini 14 (3 /3, 2/5), Stefan Nikolic 13 (3/4, 2/4), Lorenzo Bucarelli 6 (3/5, 0/2), Gabriele Tarallo 2 (1/4, 0/0), Curtis Nwohuocha 0 (0/3, 0/0), Gregorio Meroni 0 (0/0, 0/0), Filippo Clerici 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Tiri liberi: 18 / 18 – Rimbalzi: 31 9 + 22 (Christian Burns 7) – Assist: 28 (Anthony Hickey 11)
Ferraroni Juvi Cremona: Tekele Cotton 20 (3/4, 3/5), Bernardo Musso 16 (0/0, 5/5), Lester Medford 13 (2/4, 1/5), Lorenzo Tortu 11 (2/5 , 2/5), Gabriele Benetti 9 (3/5, 0/1), Daniele Magro 8 (3/3, 0/0), Luca Vincini 6 (2/2, 0/0), Antonino Sabatino 5 (2 /3, 0/1), Cosimo Costi 2 (1/2, 0/2), Marco Timperi 2 (1/2, 0/1), Francesco Grassi 0 (0/0, 0/0), Mattia Boni 0 (0/0, 0/0)
Free throws: 21 / 25 – Rebounds: 29 4 + 25 (Lorenzo Tortu 7) – Assists: 21 (Lester Medford 7)
2023-12-03 20:39:32
#Cantù #wins #PalaFitLine #derby #regains #place
