The start of the 1972-73 championship was uphill: immediately defeated in Venice but the match was shrouded in yellow. In Serie A four teams, Gorena Padova, Saclà Asti, Forst Cantù and Splugen Venezia have non-regulatory sports halls. On the Thursday before the start of the championship, with a registered letter, the Federation authorizes the four clubs to play on these fields, provided that certain constraints are respected, including the distance of at least two meters from the public field.
Yellow debut against Reyer
Before the match Porelli asks for compliance with the rule, but in reality we start playing with spectators at a non-regulatory distance. The Reyer managers invite the people of Bologna to show good sportsmanship. They claim that, after having made the spectators in the first row stand up, there was only 4 cm left to the distance required by the rules. In reality, the report will indicate that only one side was freed and that the game still began with the public far less than 2 m from the pitch on all four sides. After the 81-78 defeat (despite Fultz’s 41 points), Virtus lodges a complaint. The match was initially won by Virtus 2-0, then after appeals and controversy it was repeated at the end of March. When the replay was played, there were four games remaining in the tournament and the match was again won by Reyer 94-78. After this contested debut, 2 more defeats and 7 in the first 10 matches. Among the 3 successes, the one in the derby stands out, with 23 points from Fultz and 21 from Serafini.
In the return match against Reyer, Fultz was decisive
On the eleventh matchday, a one-point victory over Saclà, with the Bianconeri good at freezing the ball in the final seconds, but there is great anticipation for the return match against Reyer. The Bolognese seem to be in control of the match, 46-33 at halftime, after even being within 17. The Bianconeri, however, fall asleep and Guadagnino surpasses the score 77-78 with two free throws. Venezia with 30 seconds to play and ball in hand must only maintain control of the ball to win. Guadagnino, however, had the ball stolen by Fultz a few seconds from time and Kociss flew to score the winning basket 79-78 when the siren was about to sound. 32 points for the American.
Virtus won both championship derbies
Of the next 10 matches, Virtus won only two, then two successes in the last two matches. The percentage of victories drops a bit, 12 out of 26 races, sixth place finish, but only Varese, Simmenthal Milano and Cantù have more successes. Won both championship derbies against Fortitudo, it’s the first time. Disappointment for the exit from the Italian Cup, at the hands of Fortitudo, on the neutral pitch of Cremona, seven days after the end of the championship.
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