Treviso Basket, a resurrection victory: Varese scored 89-80

Nutribullet, on the debut of coach Marcelo Nicola, wins at Openjobmetis thanks also to a 23-point Bortolani

VARESE. Miracles, as Jon Ostermann’s aphorism teaches, are events so unlikely that they are impossible. Yet sometimes a miracle can happen by escaping the laws of logic. It is too early to say that the advent of coach Marcelo Nicola could be an absolute miracle for Nutribullet – there are still six games to go until the end of the regular season and salvation is certainly not achieved – however the first clues can be gathered on the Masnago parquet. And not only for the victory that increases self-esteem and finally moves the ranking after two months of hiccups in the game and in the results: there is life on the planet TvB.

It is enough to examine a few flashes of the match to notice it. Or dwell on some players who just a week ago seemed to require psychological support and who today seem to have transformed and returned to an acceptable if not good standard of performance. This is the case of DeWayne Russell: Weezy had become a bad copy of himself, trembling even in his classical movements; in Masnago we see a playful, gritty, decisive player again, perhaps even prodded by the direct confrontation with his compatriot and pariruolo Keene.

But we see glimpses of usefulness even from Sims, who was cut off a fortnight ago and who now, even if he gives too much to Sorokas, at least regains confidence with the basket and his approaching moves; and something good can be squeezed even from Dimsa, still a bit mysterious and difficult to read object but at least useful enough for the cause. Of course, it cannot be said that the Varese one is the best victory of the season. Surely it is the most useful in the most delicate moment and obtained with a test of character.

Frankly, the “old” Treviso, the one that got lost against Naples or that conceded sensational victories in Cremona and Fortitudo, would probably have collapsed in the third quarter seeing the completion of Varese’s comeback from the initial -11 (13-24) up to the overtaking of Sorokas and Reyes (61-55); this “new” Treviso, on the other hand, struggles, rediscovers the simple things it has always known how to do and enhances the strengths of almost all its performers – Akele, the only prolonged unjustified absentee, is just missing.

So from a -6 potential antechamber of the usual knockout you can see the emotional reaction: Jones occupying the spaces in the post, Bortolani who capitalizes to the maximum his enormous offensive talent, Sokolowski who uses his physical size to magnetize fouls and more, Imbrò who punishes the incorrect readings from Varese on the blocks, Dimsa who seizes the moment, Sims who returns to record near the basket, Russell who seals the match. Here they are the long-sought protagonists, who seemed lost and who were found by Marcelo Nicola who, regardless of the vulgar insults of the Lombard supporters, does not lose the aplomb or the point of the situation.

And in the end you can enjoy a victory that is like oxygen turned into gold. A little miracle, to Doctor Manhattan. Waiting for the definitive miracle called salvation that all of Treviso asked him for.