Bologna –
Immediately expected at the derby whispers and shouts after the blitz of Villorba, although not yet slipped from the last place, here is the Fortitudo whose championship will have to bounce its balls as far as possible from the last two of the ranking. The kit with the magic wand shown in Treviso by coach Martino also contains the elixir of good health in the second victory on the road after the one in Napoli, more than a month after having reached the bottom in the home defeat against Tortona last January 23rd. With the farewells of Tommaso Baldasso, Malachi Richardson, Brandon Ashley, Jon Axel Gudmundsson and Leonardo Totè, the schism has redrawn the main actors that are now Geoffrey Groselle, who after the 24 points with Trieste in mid-December has lived with more shadows than lights, Vasilis Charalampopoulos, arrived from Venice, Jacopo Borra, back from Sassari at the beginning of December and Gabriele Procida with a fluctuating performance.
The Kigili that arrives to the derby is a team that appears more substantial than brilliant, sometimes listless, but well led by Jabril Durham, also arrived at the beginning of the season, whose 6,3 assists and 32,3 minutes often spread good omens for his teammates. Among the brightest also Pietro Aradori, top scorer (15,2 points) whose use, however, will remain in the balance until the end and Robin Benzing (13 average) whose peak was touched at the beginning of January with five triples and 29 points against Varese. On the perimeter, Branden Frazier (15.1 points, 3.4 assists, 1.4 rebounds) is also holding the bar with a sure hand, among the pitfalls of a tournament whose too many imbalances of forces on the court often end up designating his team as an uncomfortable underdog. Except for Tortona, Frazier has always scored in double figures, finding substantial help from James Feldaine (10.6 points), when not out for injury: on him and Aradori the main races against time to get them back for the derby. In the strategy of relaunches and redefinition, Fortitudo shines today for lost balls, very few, just 10.6, second in A, for lunettes, even first with 20.6 attempts, less for rebounds (sixteenth with 33.1) and recoveries (fourteenth with 6.4).
