The coach: “During the week I was a bit abrupt but when they enter the field, the game has to change”
PAVIA
Riso Scotti Punto Edile conquers the second consecutive victory of the clock phase, conquering the PalaMangano going beyond the logistical difficulties of a one-day round trip from Palermo. «I am very satisfied – explains the coach of the Pavia team Fabio Di Bella – for the head with which the team faced a challenge that, from the outside, could have seemed simpler than it actually was on the pitch. It was the first time we traveled by plane for a trip like this, all the players handled the inevitable difficulties well ».
The youngsters shone, with Saladini and Apuzzo who put together 27 points. «I would also add Donadoni and Dessì – says Di Bella – they gave us a big hand, they were the ones with the most energy and they made adequate use of the space available. We were prepared for someone to have tougher legs, we were good at finding the correct answers from everyone. We knew that Palermo, on the home court, would be able to produce many points, especially with its atypical and very aggressive longs. We have different characteristics, we managed to adapt well ».
Di Bella has always stressed the importance of always using your head. «I meant – explains Fabio – that my players need to understand when, how and what to do. I have always argued that everyone has an important role and I am convinced that they understand it because they are responding well. Each game faces you with difficulties both for your opponents and for the game itself. And you have to be able to adapt. With Bernareggio and Palermo, to stay in the last two, my boys did it very well ». Always spot on changes, winning defensive and offensive strategies, Riso Scotti has turned. “Having a good staff helps my work – Di Bella smiles – then the players go to the pitch, who know that they are all important and no one is indispensable and this is a step forward compared to the beginning, when removing a player risked making plummet the level. I would also add the participation of the bench and not of the benches in the various moments of the match ».
Di Bella had the courage to put young players on the field even in difficult moments and this is making them grow, as the victory in Sicily has shown. “I don’t give anything to anyone. To make them respect they have to earn everything. I have to put them in a position – during the week – to demand a lot from themselves so that their teammates feel safe when they are on the pitch. When I was young and I started off the bench, my coach told me that when I entered the game he shouldn’t go down a level, but turn. With two close matches I was particularly rough with them and less with others, but that’s normal. Before they arrived, I explained to the team who they were and that it would be up to the two guys to deserve respect. Now we have grown to such an extent that there is little difference when the field is the young or the old ».
And on Sunday Crema arrives in Pavia. «We must be even better at turning the page again – Di Bella closes – both in terms of happiness and fatigue. It is my job to try to tune them in immediately on Sunday and make sure to arrive in the best possible conditions for the challenge with Crema ». –
maurizio scorbati