Coach Piazza looks ahead “Now we aim to get everyone in shape for the playoffs”

Merchant: «Avenged the defeat of the first leg, we defended with determination on the long and limited the shots from the arc. Deserved success ”

The interviews

Basletta seems to be back at the start of the season. Both for the game expressed on the pitch and for the warmth of the cheering in the stands. The defeats against Empoli and Pavia, but also against Cremona in the Italian Cup seem distant, as well as the problems of the infirmary which in recent months have made the work of the coaching staff difficult, due to the players who had difficulty training.

«I have to congratulate the lads – says the coach Paolo Piazza at the end of the match – and the public who felt like they did in the old days. There was a great atmosphere in the building. The team interpreted the match perfectly. We had prepared the match thinking of conceding one-on-one to their long shots. We decided not to double down so as not to put their shooters in rhythm. For the same reason we preferred not to double on Marino in the pick and roll. We won the game in defense. After the first quarter we looked each other in the face and said we shouldn’t play to 100 points. From there we suffered little and we knew that in attack it was enough for us to raise the shooting percentages a little. We tried to attack their weaknesses and we won the battle by rebounding. We came from three consecutive defeats, we wanted to reverse the course ».

Coach Piazza is now already thinking about the future, which is definitely not easy for the yellow and blue, given that the team is expected to have a fiery season finale. «We have a series of very tough matches – continues the ducal coach -. The positive note is having done a full week at full capacity. We told ourselves that we have to do a series of weeks like this to get to the playoffs all fit and available ».

Who is in a decidedly positive period is Jacopo Mercante. Against Legnano he did a great job in defensive and rebounding, but he was also able to give his own contribution in attack, often scoring fundamental baskets to trace the furrow with Legnano.

«A deserved victory has arrived, legitimized in the second half – says Mercante -. We have only taken 57 points from an attack that boasts experienced people. The match plan was clear: defend with determination to avoid three-point shots. It is the result of the work we have done this week. We can say that only Empoli will be able to boast of having beaten us twice. The victory against Legnano came thanks to the fact that we left room for long shots, rather than letting Marino and Casini go free, even though there are Fattori, who is an excellent shooter. Under the basket Cepic, who is a very physical player, caught us off guard. We had prepared some adaptations on the ball on their “4” in the low post, which we preferred not to use ». –