Fuente: © FIBA (Federación Internacional de Basket)
http://www.fiba.org/

FIBA: ITA - Fortitudo win Bologna derby

/noticias.info/ BOLOGNA (Lega A) - Climamio Fortitudo Bologna held off rivals Caffe Maxim Virtus Bologna on Sunday as Italy's famous basketball derby was staged for the first time in three years.

Erazem Lorbek, the Slovenian international and this summer's second round NBA draft pick by the Indiana Pacers, scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as Fortitudo triumphed 93-81.

Virtus trailed by 17 with nine minutes left but clawed their way back and twice closed to within three, only for Fortitudo to hit big three-pointers each time to stay in front.

In all, Fortitudo made an incredible 14 of 29 (48.3%) from three-point range.

"In the key moments of the game, Climamio punished us with their long-distance shooting," said Virtus coach Zare Markovski.

Sunday's showdown was the 96th meeting between the sides and it was played before 6,000 fans at the Land Rover Arena.

The two had not met since the 2003-04 season, when financial problems led to Virtus' relegation.

Debts piled up, and one of their former players, Sani Becirovic, who was recovering from a serious knee injury at the time, was among those who complained he was owed money by Virtus.

The problems eventually saw the team drop into Lega Due, where they spent two campaigns before winning last season's title to gain promotion.

Fortitudo must have thought they had delivered a knockout punch on Sunday at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Travis Watson's basket gave them a 73-56 lead.

Virtus stormed back with an 18-4 spurt, with two of David Bluthenthal's game-high 27 points trimming the deficit to 77-74.

Kiwane Garris responded immediately for Fortitudo with a shot from behind the arc.

A Bluthenthal three-pointer made it 82-79 with just over a minute to play, but Lorbek buried one of his three three-pointers and that finished off Virtus.

Virtus fans, who saw their team win the title in 1998 and 2001, will have been encouraged by their team's efforts on Sunday when the players refused to quit.

They are now in a four-way tie for first place with Fortitudo, Benetton Treviso and Carpisa Napoli. Montepaschi Siena can join them if they win at Lottomatica Roma later Sunday.

"We must be satisfied with our performance and we come out of this game with our heads held high," said Markovski.

"Virtus have proved they are not in first place by chance," said Fortitudo coach Jasmin Repesa.

"But I am extremely happy with this victory because our fans have been waiting for it for a long time.

"The only thing that mattered was to win."

There were some sub-plots in this game.

Becirovic, who took on Virtus a few years ago in his wage dispute, signed for Fortitudo this summer and he got to take on his former team. He played 14 minutes and scored nine points while dishing out four assists.

Virtus also took on Marco Belinelli, a product of their youth system who left the club after their relegation in 2004 and joined Fortitudo.

He finished with 10 points in 30 minutes on court.

Becirovic and Belinelli are expected to represent Slovenia and Italy, respectively, at the FIBA World Championship in Japan next year. notas_de_prensa_archivo