Pallacanestro Trieste’s journey in the Italian Cup stops at the quarter-finals. Against the battleship Armani Milano, in the midst of a defeat marked by the talent and physicality of the Olimpia players, coach Francesco Taccetti sees the foundations on which to build the near future. Despite the elimination, the technician he doesn’t hide his satisfaction with his team’s approach. «I told the boys that I was happy with the attitude they showed – . It was certainly a very physical match from the first minute, they focused on this and we struggled.”
Trieste’s match plan, based on rhythm and transition, had to deal with a heavy absence, that of Colbey Ross, who remained in the box after the blow to the calf suffered against Napoli.
«In our game plan, trying to run and take advantage of our speed, we definitely missed Ross. But well done guys because, even when the game seemed over, we managed to keep it alive.”
The real Achilles’ heel in rebounding, where the dominion of Milan highlighted structural and experiential limits.
«It’s not the first time this has happened to us – confesses the coach with pragmatism -. We suffered, suffering their physicality and from this point of view we were not up to par. This is the aspect we need to work on: our players are still a bit naive, we get pushed under the basket before the shot goes off and we are in the wrong position. It’s not just a question of aggressiveness, but a technical aspect on which we have ample room for improvement.”
Despite some missed passes and the loss of control of the pace in some situationsthe team’s identity begins to take shape, even if the adaptation process is only just beginning. «We have changed very little in recent days – explains the coach – the idea is to prepare a match plan by adapting the attack to the opposing defenses. Against Milan we wanted to run, we are a team that wants to attack knowing where to go.” In this context, Ramsey’s performance stands out as he is increasingly the offensive beacon of the Julian team: «He is giving us a lot, he has infinite offensive talent and yet he still has margins. However, he must help us more in the defensive phase.”
Now a window opens for Trieste more than two weeks without official commitments, un precious period to recharge the batteries, recover Ross (“the match with Milan was too close to risk”) and definitively shape the group. The return to the championship will not be the easiest, with the away match in Reggio Emilia just around the corner and BCL’s European commitment in Prague against Nymburk. It will be time to work in the gym to try to ensure that the attitude seen in the Italian Cup becomes the constant at the end of the season.
