In the post-race of CR1, the protagonist is Tommaso VecchiolaMVP of the challenge with Ruvo. An evening that brings him back to the center of the scene and which he himself, with the honesty that distinguishes him, immediately defines without looking for shortcuts: “It was definitely a match with a lot of drooling on my part which I definitely have to improve if I want to improve my level and improve my way of playing. I’m happy with the effort, as the coach says, that I put on the field because I believe I gave it to us. Definitely the three-point shot… I shot really badly tonight and I want to be ready next time game to do better. Too many turnovers. Steals good, but too many turnovers. So personally yes, but no, here. I’m partially happy.”
Yet his match was much more than his own judgement, hands on many possessions, presence, energy, personality, Vecchiola smiles and puts it into context: “Gregorio and I are the youngestwe have the same birthday, exactly the same day of the same year – he says – I always try to enter the field and do my best. It’s a new championship for me: it’s the first time I’ve approached the A2 not as a supporting player like in the Vanoli days. I’m happy with how I’m going. The hand injury slowed me down for a moment, but I’m getting the hang of it, I feel confident, I’m getting into a rhythm and I hope to continue along this line here and improve the things that never went well tonight.”
The next question takes it back to a couple of years ago when he was a guest on the show wearing the Sanse tank top: now he is in the quintet, technical and emotional leader: “I am very pleased – he explains – I have always seen Juvi from the outside through Vanoli and Sanse when I was here in Cremona and it has always seemed to me to be an extremely serious company that works very well with young people. And objectively after this first period I am noticing these things. I’m very happy to be here. I probably missed Cremona too… I’m happy where I am, I enjoy the moment but I always try to raise the bar.”
The end of the match, marked by a long offensive blackout, did not however compromise the team’s defensive stability, an aspect that Vecchiola claims without hesitation: “Our team identity starts from defense. We must always try to be solid defensively. In attack, perhaps we can make a little more mistakes by increasing the pace, but defensive solidity must never be lacking. We’ve been working a lot on it lately, but since August it’s always been the identikit that the staff wanted to give us.”
Now there is Turin, still at PalaRadi, another tough challenge: “Torino is a team in form that has done well in the last period. Let’s see, it’s another tough match. But we’re thinking about our own: we’ll enjoy this victory and then we’ll start working to think about the next one.”
Appointment with “Basket&Co” every Monday at 10pm on CR1 for analysis of the Cremonese basketball matches with Cristina Coppola and Alberto Guarneri. The episodes are available on the CR1 website, in the section dedicated to broadcasting, and on demand on smart TVs by pressing the red button on the remote control. To watch the latest episode click here.
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