Trento collapses in the finale against Tortona

Tortona clinched the 20th day of LBA with an 85-89 victory, in front of the’eighth consecutive sellout and breaking the streak of seven consecutive wins between league and Cup. Gorham’s decisive triple in the finale sealed the 0-10 partial that allowed the Piedmontese to overcome a Dolomiti Energia Trentino lacking Ellis and Bayehe. An outstanding performance by Andrea Pecchia, author of 20 points and 10 rebounds, supported by Niang’s 14, was not enough. On the’other side, Gorham è the absolute protagonist with a 35-point, 42-rating performance, followed by Kushe’s 16 and Baldasso’s 10.

Tickets are now on sale for the match against Pistoia, scheduled for Sunday, March 16, at 5:30 p.m., and for the challenge against Brescia, scheduled for Sunday, March 30, at 6:15 p.m. Coupons are available at’Aquila Store and online at the Vivaticket circuit.

THE STORY – Dolomiti Energia Trentino starts with: Niang, Cale, Pecchia, Lamb and Mawugbe while Tortona responds with: Kushe, Vital, Weems, Gohram and Kamagate.

Vital opens the scoring with a big triple from the’wing, then Niang attacks the iron and scores the first two points for the bianconeri, but Tortona answers again from the’arc, this time with Gorham. Niang flies over the iron for a spectacular basket, but Kushe hits again from 6.75 for 4-9. Mawugbe responds with a two-handed dunk, Cale makes 2/2 at the free, and Pecchia puts the 10-9 basket on the backboard, forcing coach De Raffaele to timeout. Kushe scores another triple and Vital adds two points from the lunette, bringing Tortona to 10-14, but Pecchia doesn’t mind and with four consecutive points brings the score back to even; at 14-14. Candi finds the basket at the iron, but Trento goes back ahead with Zukauskas’ triple, which ignites the 4,000 fans at “The T Daily Arena”. Gorham brings the Piedmontese back ahead, then Niang scores first from the lunette and then with an elegant eurostep, while Ford from the ’arc signs the 24-18 for the Bianconeri at the end of the first quarter.

Weems strikes with a triple coming out of the blocks, followed by De Negri’s basket that brings the travelers back to -1, but Myles Cale immediately responds with a dribble-arrest-and-shoot triple. Biligha makes his presence felt in the basket with a basket, then Lamb punishes from the’corner with a triple and Niang backs up two more points. Soon after, Pecchia performs an elegant behind-the-back hand change, sending his defender off balance and scoring the 34-25 basket. Weems shortens with a two-point basket, but Pecchia immediately responds. Mawugbe stoppages with authority and Ford puts 38-27 on the scoreboard, forcing coach De Raffaele to timeout. On the comeback, Gorham drags Tortona with four consecutive points, then Vital scores from mid-range and Gorham again completes the comeback, tying the score at 38-38 with a 0-11 partial for the guests. At the end of the second quarter, Cale makes both free throws from the lunette and Trento closes the first half ahead 40-38.

Baldasso opens the third period with a triple, Pecchia immediately responds on penetration, but Kamagate retaliates from the’other side. Pecchia again makes his presence felt with a spectacular dunk, then Lamb backs two easy points, but Kamagate retorts again. Niang serves Mawugbe, who scores by getting fouled and completes the three-point play from the lunette. Pecchia continues to star, but Tortona responds with Kamagate and Gorham, who shorten the distance, before Baldasso completes the hookup on the Eagle at 53. Severini responds to a Lamb basket, Mawugbe finds the target from underneath, but Baldasso from the corner signs the overtake for the Piedmontese. Forray takes over the HCL offense: first he makes a floater, then he scores the 62-58 triple, forcing coach De Raffaele to timeout. On the comeback, Gorham gets fouled and completes a three-point play bringing Tortona back to -1, but in the final seconds Zukauskas makes two free throws with 0.3 seconds to the buzzer, setting the score at 66-63 for Trento at the end of the third quarter.

Cale opens the last period with a jumper from the mid-range, then Mawugbe controls the offensive rebound and scores on a tap-in, bringing the HCL to 70-63. Kushe responds with four consecutive points, bringing Tortona back to -3. Lamb makes 2/2 from the lunette, but Gorham immediately retaliates with two free throws and shortly after nails the -1 dunk, forcing coach Galbiati to timeout. On the return, Kushe signs the overtake, but Forray immediately responds with a triple and Pecchia backs it up 77-73, this time forcing coach De Raffaele to stop the game. Again Pecchia scores with authority, but Gorham responds, before Niang, on penetration, brings the Eagle back to +6. Tortona doesn’t give up and Kushe makes a tough basket, Lamb again makes 2/2 at the free, but Gorham lights it up with a heavy triple and shortly after, with a trip to the lunette, brings the Piedmontese back to -1. In the final, è Gorham again takes center stage: his triple splits the game and gives Tortona a crucial win.

DOLOMITI ENERGIA TRENTINO-BERTRAM DERTHONA TORTONA 85-89 (24-18, 40-38; 66-63)

Dolomiti Energia Trento: Ellis N.E, Cale 9, Ford 7, Pecchia 20, Niang 14, Forray 5, C. Niang N.E, Mawugbe 9, Lamb 11, Zukauskas 7, Hassan. Coach Galbiati.

Bertram Derthona Tortona: Zerini N.E, Vital 7, Kushe 16, Gorham 35, Candi 4, Farias N.E, Denegri 2, Baldasso 10, Kamagate 6, Biligha 2, Severini 2, Weems 5. Coach De Raffaele.

Paolo GALBIATI (Coach Dolomiti Energia Trentino): «C’è a lot of bitterness because we were not lucid, solid and precise. The low percentages to the iron penalized us, as well as some defensive inattentions. Unfortunately, we wasted a’chance to bring home a game that, with a little more polish, we could have won. We struggled against defensive changes, bowing out in some situations. Clearly, the’absence of Bayehe and Ellis weighed, because’with reduced rotations we struggled to maintain our pace of play and did not do what we know, want and need to do. Certainly we have to give credit to their performance, but we know we can and must do better».