Effe's victory: a step towards the playoffs with Cantù in their sights

Match under control, some old flaws still to be fixed, but still a pass towards the playoff. "Congratulations to the boys for the victory – says coach Attilio Caja –, which was obviously difficult, even though we led it almost all the way. We never managed to close it out, but we were almost always in control: we conceded a few baskets, but the boys were good".

For Effe it is also a victory of attitude, to demonstrate that against Cantu you get there through the main door. "The attitude of the boys was excellent, they were serious, even in this context Aradori and Fantinelli were an excellent guide for the others. And Gabriel and Freeman played like Americans with a capital A. It's a shame about the injury to Vencato, who took a blow below the knee (today the tests to understand the extent - ed.)".

A victory for the 4.600 of the PalaDozza and for those who have always supported the men on the field. "Good for the public, obviously we were indebted to them for the games lost against Pesaro in the regular season. They are our best ally and the best player on the field. Good also for the club: the president is always there and always has words of encouragement. The playoffs were not a given. Since I arrived it seemed that we had to win all the games. Last year we won 22 out of 32, this year 17 out of 27: we should read the numbers better before criticizing because it seems like there is a chasm between last year and this year".

Now we leave for Desio. With some repairs still to be done to arrive with the right momentum. "With Pesaro we spent a lot and Cantu is the favorite, but we want to play our cards. We need to improve the solidity defensive. It's a new series: obviously today the pressure was on us, but now it's on Cantù. We have to try to start knowing that we have our chances to play. If we have everyone's contribution it will be even better".

The identity defensive by Caja: the figure of the last two years, but more is needed. "We played showing good offensive potential, but with a few less errors such a beautiful match could have been closed earlier: by now I have come to terms with it, we are more offensive than defensive. In attack we have these weapons. If we combine an attentive defense we can be dangerous".