Basketball Serie A2: Rinascita climbs back up the slope. Great joy: "Winning the derby was fundamental for us"

Pesaro gets closer, becomes dangerous again, smells the prey when it goes to -2 and remains in ambush at -5 at the end of the third. Problems? Nope, they'll think about it Alexander the Great. Head free from thoughts and arm ready to shoot triples as if it were raining. In the important moment it was the former Agrigento who gave the "go-ahead" to the red and white escape. "We are very happy with this victory - says Grande -. It was important for the environment, for the people, for the company and it was also important for the moment we are going through. I think that the message given by this game is that of a team that wants to shake off many things. From the head, from the body, from everything. A very important reaction. For us a great start to the game with a good break, then it's a shame that we arrived at the interval with a few points of advantage. We returned from the locker room with good aggression and, even if we didn't always score in those moments, there were offensive rebounds that generated precious extra-possessions. We believed in what we were doing. Well done everyone, we were on the ball and in the end we went away in the score". It was a very complicated moment, with the defeat in the Cup closing weeks of suffering in which the team was unable to compete as before.

"This group and this team really believe in what they have done and what they have built during the year - continues the former Agrigento play-guard -. Not being able to continue in that way, suffering, losing positions in the standings has hurt us. Paradoxically, in a championship without direct promotion, we would have suffered less of a backlash, but we still want to stay at the top and stay close to the top". Are dreams of direct promotion still legitimate? Great test to analyze the possibilities.

"It's a strange moment with all these recoveries, so much so that it happens that you turn on Lnp in the evening and discover that there are a couple of games left. The way we worked in these days has led us to a performance like the one in the derby. We focused only on ourselves and that's the key. There are many games and there's little time, we have to stay on top of things and tackle them one at a time. We have many other games before the direct clash in Udine, let's see what happens". Rbr is 4 games behind the leaders with the same number of games, with the Friulians who will play tomorrow in Cremona with the goal of extending their lead. The team is then expected for next Wednesday's match in Rieti, the recovery of the tenth return match. RivieraBanca, however, now it has a different face.

Loriano Zannoni