Hippo Basket Salerno, the playoffs begin

The teams’ playoff adventure begins tomorrow Under 17 Gold e Under 15 Silver from the Hippo Basket Salerno. The quintet led by coach Aldo Russowhich came in fifth place at the end of the Second Gold Phasewill have to deal with the third place in the “Silver” group il Basket Open. The derby between the two city teams will be valid for the first round of the direct elimination phase and will offer access to the following one. The first leg is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 11 May, at 7pm at the John Paul II Metropolitan Seminary Of Pontecagnano Faianowhile the second and decisive confrontation of the series will take place Wednesday 15th at 5pm at the ITSVIL Arena of the PalaSilvestri in Matierno. During the regular season the two teams have already faced each other: in the first leg Hippo violated the Open field (63-73), in the return the Granatini repeated their defeat against Matierno (66-48).

The objectives

«We enter the playoffs with a team that, given the seasonal schedule, went beyond our expectations. We faced the “Gold” championship for the first time with only 3 players from 2007 and therefore with a group almost completely under age, as well as the Under 15s. It is proof that what we are implementing for our kids is going in the right direction. direction, also thanks to the support of the company, of the president Giosafat Frascino and of all those who collaborate with us. With the Under 17s we almost always played point-to-point matches which allowed us to take further steps. We could have finished in the top four, we finished fifth also due to a bit of bad luck. The championship matches have a history of their own, while the play-off matches will have a different, adrenaline-filled atmosphere. This doesn’t mean you have to play with anxiety or the desire to solve problems yourself. We have acquired a wealth of experience and skills that must push the kids to try to overcome their limits, to throw their hearts beyond the obstacle, to collaborate, to resist in defense, to share the ball in attack, but also to take on responsibility. Youth sector matches serve this purpose, to carry forward the growth process, to allow the kids to test themselves».

The calendar

The Under 15 Silver team, which came second in the Blue group of the second Gold phase of the category championship, will in turn be involved in the quarter-final series withAP Cercola, first place in the White group. With continuous growth after the halfway point, coach Grenadines Juan Cruz Llaryora they deserved access to the play offs and now they will try to hold their own against their highly rated opponents. Also in this case the regulation provides for home and away matches, with extra time only at the end of the second match in the event of an equal basket difference. Match 1 is scheduled for Saturday 11 May at 6 pm at the ITSVIL Arena of the PalaSilvestri in Matierno, the second match is scheduled for Saturday 18 May again at 6 pm at Small building in Viale dei Platani in Cercola.

The test bench

«I would like to congratulate the boys, not for the results, but for their consistency in training – he stated with Laryora –. Training four times a week is not at all easy, organizing themselves between school and family commitments, they managed to keep up the pace. The results certainly motivated them. We have a mixed group, with several athletes who are tackling the championship under age and others who are novices. We, as a staff, are happy because reaching these stages of the tournament allows them to play these types of matches and gives them experience of how to face these matches. There are completely different dynamics compared to the regular season, they will have to always be ready, they have to think from the perspective of two games, they have to always stay in the game even on a mental level. In short, it will be a good test in their growth process».