The amazing comeback of Trento
The amazing comeback of Trento
At the beginning of the season, after a couple of lost games, Aquila Basket Trento seemed like a failed project for the Seria A playoffs. They started with a very bad record, winning only the first Eurocup clash against Partizan and then losing 10 games in a row in all competitions.
They were eliminated from Eurocup after finishing their group with a bad record, 3-7. The group was really tough since Trento had to face very strong teams in European basketball like Valencia, Asvel Lyon, Partizan, Zenit and Turk Telekom.
After the Eurocup campaign came to an end, Trento has more energy to focus only on Legabasket. In the second part of the season, they managed to turn things around. In the last 13 games, they won 10 games losing only against Olimpia Milano, Virtus Bologna and Dinamo Sassari. Their struggle to reach the playoff was visible on every encounter, especially in the loss against Milano in overtime. The explaining for this turnaround was the comeback of the 28-years old point guard Aaron Craft which replaced Nikola Radicevic. He averages 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists but since he played before with Trento could do more for the team that the stats could reveal.
After his comeback, Trento finished the regular season on the sixth spot with a record of 17-13. They will face in the first round of the play-offs Umana Venezia. Trento has a large rotation, but their best help is coming from the starting five which have made a very good job in the last part of the season. It will be very hard for them, but not impossible. With good teamwork and accurate shots, they have a chance against Venezia. Although, I see Venezia as the favorite in this round. However, good luck to Trento, maybe they can continue the good form and reach another Seria A final.
Bogdan Vasile Tirc, info@brainbasketball.net
