CIVIL. Gesteco Cividale wins the derby of history, because it beats Apu Old Wild West in two fundamental things in basketball: intensity and teamwork.
Money, budgets, huge contracts (some, in the light of the facts, thrown away), proclamations and more are good things, but insufficient. The Eagles win by one point 67-66 because the highly paid players of the Apu are unable to attack on minus one with 26” to go, after having received by fate the match-point they didn’t deserve.
Instead, the ducal victory was well deserved. The “PillaBand” is a team and made the masterpiece: 67-66. For Udine’s much-vaunted dreams of promotion, see you in the spring or in the future. The many doubts, starting with the absence of a point guard, glaring. Rota from Cividale, not Stockton, proved it.
Micalich-Pedone 1-0: if one had landed from Mars after a three-month mission on the red planet, one would not believe it. But it’s all true.
Gesteco-Old Wild West basketball derby: the arrival of Udine fans in Cividale
It starts in a wonderful climate. “Udine”, “Cividale, I don’t know how to stay without you”, obviously no chorus against, only for your club. PalaGesteco sold out. Those from Udine, many of whom have come from the city on a railroad car, shout each other: a nice sight.
Pillastrini, it was predictable, focuses on the intensity of his bass quintet, Boniciollli has to adapt with Esposito and Gaspardo half lengths. Udine is more robust, but has to play as Cividale imposes, which starts by dominating: two sidereal triples by Clarke, Dell’Agnello who posterizes Mian, 10-2 Eagles. Gesteco defends very well.
Udine? A bland start, not as a team that wants to go a long way. When you start defending a bit and running, the balance returns with Briscoe who levels up with Mussini who also scores the overtaking triple (13-12).
Different objectives, true, but the Apu championship is a roller coaster, that of Cividale is acute. Tears after tears on both sides to reach the interval in a draw thanks to a triple by Sherrill: 36-36.
In the middle a great duel between Rota (really good)-Mussini. The stakes weigh heavily and can be seen in the dozens of balls thrown away by both teams. The derby of intensity so far has been won by Gesteco.
Boniciolli plays the Pellegrino card, but it is a choral action by Cividale that gets applause and demonstrates how one is already a team while the other is not. And it shows, Udine has a lot from Briscoe, Mian, Mussini and Sherrill and nothing from Gaspardo.
Cividale is a watch, perhaps not a Rolex, but it works. And with a metronome, Rota scores the triple for 47-51 just as it seemed that Apu was trying a mini-break.
Udine’s + 5 at the penultimate siren (49-54) comes with a triple from captain Antonutti. Pillastrini sipped Clarke, now fresh, Boniciolli has the grain of Briscoe, the lighthouse, with three fouls.
It starts again, Dell’Agnello incites the crowd, the ducals see the enterprise. Gaspardo is in total confusion, yet Mian remains on the bench. And so it doesn’t seem real to the Eagles when Mouaha punches the Udinese defense three times at his pleasure.
Without a real point guard, Boniciolli’s band seems to be heading towards a crushing defeat, confused attack after confused attack. Cividale leads with 5” to go on 59-56, Udine gives a jolt, but it’s always the hero of Portogruaro Rota who sorts things out.
And when Briscoe, and it could not be otherwise, crashes one against 5 in the absence of alternatives, Cividale attacks on 64-60 with three quarters of the derby in the pocket. Clarke with a big basket seems to put the icing on the cake.
finished? Not at all: 6-0 partial Apu, finally also with Gaspardo, and Cividale who attacks 40” from the end on 66-66. Clarke misses from three, Miani is fouled and brings his goals to +1 with 26” to go.
In the subsequent attack the aforementioned pearls of confusion of the Apu. The team “Pillaband” wins. What Udine is not yet, proclamations, money, stickers aside. Point and stop. —
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