Going double digits in a quarter is a feat for Shavon Shields: the American-Danish did it in the Euroleague, in the Milan that defeated Bayern Munich of Gist and Baiesi in game-5 of the quarterfinals. Nicola Berdini, for now, has done it in A2, in the precious +33 nine days ago at the Stella Azzurra in Rome. His 11 points in the first 10 minutes were more confirmation of how much the 17-year-old from Marche has grown from the first ball to two of a season, which began as a back-up point guard and continued with a key role. «Certainly – he says – I didn’t expect so many minutes and so many responsibilities at the beginning of the championship. There were other factors that made me gain space, such as Marco Laganà’s injury. But the coach gave me a lot of confidence ». It is no coincidence that Squarcina often entrusts him with the marking of the most dangerous opposing guard: «It’s a stimulus. And then I believe in what the coach thinks: you have to be effective in defense as well as in attack. Shields does too, doesn’t he? ‘
With his captain he has in common the DNA in the shape of a wedged ball. «I entered a sports hall before I was even born», he jokes, thinking of his father as a player (just like Laganà’s father) and now in the Montegranaro staff. “My mother followed him to matches even when he was pregnant – continues Berdini – so I started living on basketball when I was still in my stomach”. The first dribbles close to home, then the call in the Reyer Venezia nursery and from this year Biella, in a particular situation dictated by the pandemic: «Me and teammates of my age spend the days between school and gym. Those who have already finished studying have only basketball. It would be useful for everyone to be able to go out and disconnect a little. But the concentration is not lacking, on the parquet as on the books of the fourth year of scientific high school: «I care, since I was a child I have tried to best combine school and sport. Then the professors give me a hand ». In these days the head is fixed on the black group and on Sunday’s match which, with a success, could almost completely remove Biella from last place: «Of course, let’s look at the classification and the goal difference. But our goal must be the same in every match: to win ». With Bergamo the rossoblù have not yet succeeded but, since the external knockout of the first day, something has changed: «We have always suffered them – says the playmaker – and the fight to save ourselves is a new situation for many of us. We paid for the tension and inexperience. But against Roma we understood that we just have to stay united, play as a team and get rid of the pressures ».