Tarros, mission accomplished. Varese deludes itself but gives in

TARROS SPICE 96 VARESE CAMPUS 73 (21-25, 44-45, 71-60)

TARROS SPICE: Pettinaroli 10, Manto 2, Ramirez 11, Fionn, Gogishvili 3, Merlo 18, Loschi 18, Giazzon, Morciano 23, Steffanini, Tedeschi, Dias 11. Coach Mori.

VARESE CAMPUS: Charity 14, Bosio 5, Bottelli 4, Tapparo 15, Scola Ti. 2. Mantovani 2, Kouassi 12, Reghenziani 6, Scola To. 3, Prato 8. Coach Roncari.

Referees: Cavasin of Rosignano and Deliallisi of Livorno

LA SPEZIA – Don't be fooled by the final score. It was a real match, against a bunch of guys who are on first name terms with the ball. Campus Varese certainly didn't come down to the shores of the Golfo dei Poeti for a trip, on the contrary. The desire to erase the 'zero' of victories in this second phase was clearly visible, despite the absence of the prized piece of Lombard silverware, that Assui now a permanent fixture in the first team in A1. Tarros struggled and not a little to get to the bottom of it, also playing a first-rate match, after the break, so much so that the show was more than enjoyable. Surely a 'soft' defense in the first two halves allowed the guests to play their best basketball and the game went by quickly, almost always point for point and it took the best Loschi to keep the black and whites on their feet in the first 20' of play (18 points at half time). That something could change for Tarros was understood from the prolonged retreat in the locker room.

As we know coach Mori, he must have certainly made it clear that the defense had to improve in attention and physical and mental presence. A simple concept that captain Ramirez took possession of, one and three on every ball, followed closely by his teammates. The 3rd and 4th foul (technical for protests) by Loschi in the 21st minute on 47-46 (he will sit on the bench without returning to the field also to be preserved for a sore shoulder) could have had a negative impact and instead the team found a new structure. Ramirez 'growled' like a madman on every ball, and his teammates around him adapted. Varese, no longer finding the ease of shooting of the first two quarters, went into trouble with Tarros who also tried to run with Merlo and Pettinaroli: a mini partial of 6-0 that however opened a breach. Ramirez with two free throws gave the first double-digit advantage (64-55, 27th). Varese tried to resist with triples from Carità and the Argentine forward Prato, but the balls recovered in defense that turned into counterattacks and transitions silenced any hopes of the guests.

Gianni Salis