Bologna –
These are the words of coach Luca Banchi at the end of the game against Tortona: “It was a solid win with a good performance, a serious contest that we approached well and kept control playing with an excellent distribution of responsibilities, finding circulation even in the face of their tactical adjustments. We led 6 players in double figures and two with 9 points, this gives evidence of good quality collective basketball. It was a response we required, in spite of the emergencies of having given up Pajola and Abass in the last stages, today unavailable due to injury, we still managed to play a solid game and we now look very carefully at next week which will be very tough, with close engagements against three of the best teams in Europe. We get there with the desire to amaze and to continue to believe in our possibilities and potential, with a game identity that, as we saw again tonight regardless of the opponent, cannot disregard the will to play together and also share the defensive efforts that tonight allowed us to keep in check the talent of a team like Tortona. An important thought goes to Achilles and his return, it was a convincing week of training where he brought all his desire, energy and optimism after what happened. It was good to see him back on the court and his 5 points also came, which the team wanted to celebrate in the right way. We are side by side with a guy who has gone through a moment of great stress and that he has faced with maturity and seriousness, I hope that the affection he has felt in the city, from the fans and throughout the Italian basketball community, because wherever we have been there has always been a thought for him, and I hope that this may have been a further boost to his recovery. Let’s continue on this road, let’s try to bring him as quickly as possible to a condition that will allow him to resume his role inside a team in which he arrived with great expectations, his and ours. The players who usually play less interpreted the game well taking advantage of the opportunity, we know we have such close commitments and especially in league games it is essential that everyone is involved in this process to be able to keep the team at a good energy level. Coming off two consecutive defeats there was a desire in everyone to turn this around and a good performance came out of it regardless of who was on the field. Tonight we regained a good streak from the arc, and you know how closely this is related to the quality of our basketball. Opponents always end up clogging up the area a lot and it is difficult for us to find openings for the longs, on penetrations and approaching plays. Tonight our basketball was more airy, it is crucial to have a boost from players who played a few minutes less in the last game and were ready tonight to interpret the game correctly.”
