Monday 17 February 2020. here she is, the first victory of the Under 16 Gold from 8 January onwards, and it is the result of step, very clear, performed by the greater group of INVICTUS Academy putting to good use the growth started just over a month ago, from virtually subzero. It could have come sooner, there have been some physiological missteps, very limited rotations, and abandonments of those who have not even tried to join a group that, from the arrival of Alberto Marculissi, has changed pace from the mental point of view, technical, physical and athletic.
It only counts who is there, and for those who are there, concrete opportunities will open up, as is already happening for some of the "Oranges" in particular. in the meantime, for the group, the first victory arrives, which repays the extra work that is being done. And it is a victory of character, on an opponent of great depth such as Ferrara Basketball School, which has excellent players, technical staff and organization, and that on the first leg he had beaten us by 9, 59-50, the 3 November. Before the secession began, let's call it that, but there was no music already, from September onwards.
Victory comes from all the boys, and we could press the rewind key to play it backwards: the defensive rebound conquered by Francesco a 5" from the end, recovery e "touchdown" of Fabio a 56" for the +6, its triple from the corner to the +4 the previous action and so on, with the discharge of Fabio per Mario, which is fouled and must be replaced by Francesco, who throws the free throw of the +3, and the assist immediately preceding Lollo per Fabio to give us the last, decisive overtaking, after the great defensive play of ours #31, which had suffered a breakthrough by the most dangerous Este attacker.
This is the overtime movie of "Oranges", after the 40 'regulation which saw an imperative test of Wire, than on -4 a 29" from the fourth siren he had signed before the triple of -1 and therefore the entry of the tie, and like him everyone had given their all, gives Mario who battled an opponent twice his size - emblematic action, beaten to the bottom the Captain went to stop him! - a Nick who has never pulled back by magnetizing the opposing defense on himself at each penetration, a Lollo which shows that enthusiasm that, before January 8th 2020, it just wasn't there.
With nine players only on the scoresheet, the Coach knew how to draw each joule of energy from each of them, every drop of sweat, with Baldo who feels involved and is gaining confidence, Simo e May veterans from the commitment of 24 hours before with i 2005, waiting for the recovery of Gianlu, Zucco and a couple of other additions that could prove to be crucial, in the future. in the meantime, let's hold on to this victory, which represents first of all a very deep satisfaction, and gives credit to Alberto Marculissi, expression of teamwork and constant confrontation with Federico Politi e Alfredo Pazzeschi, result of the collaboration with Fortitudo Basketball.
Flanked by Luca Zanardi, the Coach returning from the double engagement of the Italian Cup Final Eight in Pesaro with the first team and the Under team 18 Excellence, he immediately resumed contact with the group, that he hadn't been able to physically follow in the past week, however, remaining in constant contact with the Staff and planning the work even at a distance of 150 km. We had already written aboutMarculissi effect, his presence was particularly noticeable precisely when he was absent, and it is a fundamental difference, if not paradoxical, compared to the past.
Start of uphill race, 0-6 on the scoreboard after just 1'48" race with mandatory timeout, from which to start again. And we leave again, there was only a need to get back in touch, also physical and, mostly, connect the mind. First point from the line of Mario, first basket in action by Lollo, first triple to target of Fabio, then the draw at odds 8 signed by Mario, and this time it is Ferrara who has to turn on the first timeout, after 2'36" by our. First advantage over the second triple of Fabio, 11-10 thanks to the perfect overturning of Wire, and the following offensive action comes the unmarked return pass, with Wire which marks the free throw of the +2. Nick slams into both halves of the field, goes to give a great block in defense and, on the other side, marks the +4 on rebound, Lollo e Wire they send in the bezel Mario that puts a very important 4/4, it means we are there and it fully demonstrates it 18-14 the first siren.
It's still Mario to restore the +4 at the start of the second quarter after the opponent's first basket, followed by Lollo e Nick which increase the partial to 6 a 0 of the +8, 24-16. Nick place another block and fly in coast to coast, scoring the first free, Wire conquer the attacking rebound on the second by reopening the game, leading to the basket of Francesco of the +11, it's a 9-0 very heavy scored by "Oranges" 27-16 against an opponent of important caliber. And in fact Ferrara reacts, falls, hits from the line and in transition. It refers to -7 on the 27-20, we recover energy by rotating Simo, May e Baldo, we find the basket with the free throw of Wire of the +7 a 2'50", and from the field with the entry of Fabio for the new +7. But the Basketball School plays strong, still recovers, surpasses with a 10-0 terrifying, broken by the basket of Lollo a 5" interval, we find ourselves below 1, 32-33, and from that +11 we underwent a 5-17 partial.
It takes character, to get out. We need a reaction, it takes twenty minutes to play as a team, giving bottom to all the energies. Ferrara immediately hit the mark, but we respond by stopping and shooting Lollo and the recovery and counter-attack of Wire that lead us to +1, 36-35. The Basketball School scores again, ma Wire exactly replicates the previous action for the new one +1, Nick equalized share 40, then make a cut "curly" getting from Simo and rotating towards the basket for the 2+1 of the 43-41. Third recovery on the counterattack of Wire, then another recovery, this time of Lollo which is stopped in mid-court with an unsportsmanlike foul and slips the 2/2 Which brings us to +5, and then close on +3 of the 47-44, winning the partial for 15-11, we are there and we are ready to play it all out in the last quarter, is an answer that is already worth a lot.
Ferrara scores first on an offensive rebound, but Lollo responds with an entrance with his left hand, a triple and a stop and shoot, signing i 7 points that in two minutes lead us to +8, 54-46. Baldo fights in defense, recovers a ball and wins a tap-off that gives us the throw-in, the Basketball School is shown again below, place a 9-0 which leads her to +1 but there is, is a very strong opponent, which grants nothing. Nick throws himself in, falling he manages to pass the ball to Fabio, that finds the right cm along the bottom line and goes to make the counter pass, 56-55. Not enough yet, the Este family return to the front and extend a +5, 56-61, with less than 4 'on the clock. It takes yet another reaction from the "Oranges", that never cease to amaze against an opponent who seems relentless. Filo flies on the break and scores a free throw, we cling to the defense, Mario and Fabio recover two balls, from the second comes the captain's basket of +2, 59-61. We arrive at 1'32" from the fourth siren, to Mario's block on the opponent and to that ending already told, scrolling it backwards. It is a circle that is finally closing, we impact in regular time and win overtime, 72-70.
The satisfaction, joy, that sense of having achieved a goal, they are all tangible emotions. The hug is worth a thousand words. A few are enough, pronounced by the Coach to the boys: "It is not a point of arrival, this victory, let's make it a starting point for training tomorrow night, to play better this second part of the season". Other words will follow, it is already time to plan immediate and long-term developments, to program like never before, let's talk about 2004, of 2005, of 2006, of 2007 and the Minibasket, in a "direct line" with other Trainers. There is a season to continue on every front, tournaments and camps to organize, ideas to share, a project to believe in.
The protagonists of the victory are ... # 0 Filippo Fabbri, # Simone Pedrini, # 5 Francesco D'Alario, # 6 Lorenzo Fantini, # 13 Nicola Monzali, # 23 Alessandro Maggiore, # 31 Fabio Pinto, # 33 Matteo Baldi, # 35 Mario manly (Captain).
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