The next day, in the Edilnol household, is that of optimism: “I will always defend the boys until they give everything”, the headmaster Andrea Zanchi had announced in the press room, putting away the blue pencil of the shortcomings for a moment. Two of the rossoblù headlights, Hasbrouck and Infante, keep morale up via social media. «It will be a fun year – assures the American who has just arrived -. I can’t wait to watch our growth day by day. Let’s enjoy it together and win some of them ». «Head down – summarizes the captain – and continue to work hard, together».
But optimism must also pass through the quality control of realism. And this says that Biella cannot afford to be soft and compliant. The coach says it plainly, even if the justifications are not lacking: «I could say that I expected it. I imagined the emotion, the first match with the public after so many months, a young team, the pressure of the debut at home especially for those who grew up here – he admits in the press room, but without making too many discounts -. We know what team we have and that our future passes through a path of growth. We also know what we need to do to compete. And it has nothing to do with what we played in the first two periods ». Words echoed by those of co-captain Matteo Pollone, himself the protagonist of a two-sided match. «We cannot expect to win if we let us score more than 40 points in 20 minutes at home. If we are content to play half the game, we lose them all ».
The start from ten steps behind the pugnacious pre-season Edilnol can be summarized in a few figures: five turnovers in attack in a row in the first period and 12 after half-game (“From then on we only conceded five”, he underlines Zanchi), only one foul immediately and moreover on an irregular block in attack in the first ten minutes, a symptom of little courage in attacking the basket. What has changed in the interval? “As we are now – says the coach – we cannot do without our organized casino”. That is aggression on the ball, quick shots, recoveries, running on the counterattack. And perhaps pitiless choices, but necessary, also to give a signal to those who have not managed to fully immerse themselves in the role: «Ours is a team sport. If four do the right thing and one makes a mistake, we suffer the same goal ». Those who did not have the right face remained seated for a long time, like Alessandro Morgillo, who spent the last two quarters on the bench. «I have seen good things from some and less good from others – admits the coach -. Everyone has to make more decisions otherwise they agree with those who didn’t let them play in previous years ». Poised between the mitigating and the positive notes, there are the performances of those who were not at their best, like Hasbrouck just arrived «who spent too much time on the parquet – says Zanchi – for someone who arrived last Tuesday». Or like Bianchi, 11 points in as many minutes: «We have to dose it, not its re-education is finished ». And then there’s that 17-0 blaze to get back into the game. “He told us – Pollone sighs – that we had what it takes to win it.”