Fortitudo Bologna will be facing two Emilia-Romagna derbies in a row in Italian Serie A2 as the blue-and-white squad from the capital city of Italian basketball is scheduled to play Rinascita Rimini at home and, three days later, Forlì on the road.
For Fortitudo, the derbies will be crucial to keep first place in the standings of the Red Group of the second-tier Italian tournament as, rebus sic stantibus, the Bologna squad holds a record of 10 wins in 12 games played.
In the last round, Fortitudo, led by head coach Attilio Caja, managed to bounce back from a home loss to Scaligera Verona (68:75) by downing San Giobbe Chiusi 75:82 on the road.
From a statistical standpoint, Fortitudo is Serie A2 Red Group fourth best defense and second best offense, with 105,1 points conceded per 100 defenses, and 114,1 points made per 100 possessions.
Moreover, the blue-and-white team from Bologna possesses the best ball circulation and the third most efficient defensive aggressiveness of the group, with 18,2 assists and 6,6 steals posted per game.
With respect to individual contributions, Fortitudo, on the court, is led by power forward Mark Ogden and center DeShawn Freeman as the US duo, thus far in the tournament, posted averages of 14,3 points, 8,4 rebounds, and 14,2 points, 7,3 rebounds per game respectively.
In the backcourt, small forward Pietro Aradori put in 20,2 points with 3,3 three-pointers made per game, perimetral swingman Riccardo Bolpin poured in 11,0 points with 4,2 asssits per match, and captain Matteo Fantinelli made averages per game of 10,1 points, 6,5 asssits.
Forlì vs. Fortitudo Bologna
Forlì, on the paper, is the more challenging opponent of Fortitudo’s in the next two games as, first of all, the team from Romagna holds second place in Red Group standings, ex aequo with Trieste and APU Udine, with a record of 9 wins and 3 losses.
In the last games of the first half of the first phase of the regular season, the team led by former Fortitudo head coach Antimo Martino defeated APU Udine at home in the overtime (87:84), lost to Trieste on the road (79:62), and downed Benedetto XIV Cento in front of the home public (82:62).
Forlì is Serie A2 best team in terms of ball control with an average of 10,1 turnovers committed per game, as well as the second best team of the tournament with respect to dominance under the tables with 39,3 rebounds captured per match.
From an individual standpoint, former Fortitudo perimetral swingman Daniele Cinciarini, forward Xavier Johnson are expected to be a factor for Forlì.
On the one hand, the Cremona-born professional poured in 11,9 points, 1,4 triples made per game, whereas, on the other hand, the US athlete delivered 13,9 points, 8,4 rebounds per match.
Forlì vs. Fortitudo Bologna – Sunday, December 10 at 8:30 PM CET, PalaGalassi, Forlì.
Projected starting fives*:
Forlì – Fabio Valentini, Kadeem Allen, Daniele Cinciarini, Todor Radonjić, Xavier Johnson. Head coach – Antimo Martino.
Fortitudo – Matteo Fantinelli, Riccardo Bolpin, Pietro Aradori, Mark Ogden, Deshawn Freeman. Head coach – Attilio Caja.
Fortitudo Bologna vs. Rinascita Rimini
In spite of holding ninth place in the standings, with a record of 3 wins and 9 losses, Rimini is also a challenging opponent as, in the last game, the team coached by Sandro Dell’Agnello managed to interrupt a streak of 5 losses in a row by defeating Assigeco Piacenza/Casalpusterlengo at home (83:78).
From a statistical perspective, Rinascita is Red Group second best team in terms of ball control, with 10,6 turnovers committed per game, as well as the fifth best team of the group with respect to rebounds captured per match, with an average of 37,5.
On the court, Rimini is led by a duo of US players. On the one hand, perimetral swingman Derrick Marks posted averages of 18,4 points with 1,9 three-pointers made per game.
On the other hand, power forward Justin Johnson, as writing, delivered 13,4 points with 9,2 rebounds per match.
Fortitudo Bologna vs. Rinascita Rimini – Thursday, December 7 at 8:30 PM CET, Paladozza, Bologna.
Projected starting fives*:
Fortitudo – Matteo Fantinelli, Riccardo Bolpin, Pietro Aradori, Mark Ogden, Deshawn Freeman. Head coach – Attilio Caja.
Rimini – Giovanni Tomassini, Derrick Marks, Simon Anumba, Justin Johnson, Alessandro Simioni. Head coach – Sandro Dell’Agnello.
Matteo Cazzulani
@MatteoCazzulani
@matejkatsouranis
*based on assumptions.
Matej Katsouranis Basketball 
Leave a comment