Fortitudo, a poor opening. It's a rude awakening against Rimini. Caja immediately bids farewell to the Super Cup.

Ravenna, September 12, 2025 – After an excellent preseason, Fortitudo fell in their first official match, defeated on the hardwood of the Pala De Andrè in Ravenna by Rimini in the Super Cup semifinal. Attilio Caja's team failed to defend the trophy they won last year in Livorno, leaving the Romagna side to take on Cividale on Sunday evening at 9:00 PM, who defeated Forlì 87-86 in a thrilling match.

Effe weren't satisfied with an excellent Paulius Sorokas, unfortunately forced to exit at the end with a right thigh injury, a decent performance from Lee Moore, and flashes from Valerio Mazzola. Too many errors cost Fortitudo dearly, as they struggled to score and at times failed to contain Rimini's attacking verve. Matteo Fantinelli and Gianluca Della Rosa's direction wasn't always brilliant, and Effe was especially lacking in points from Alvise Sarto and Matteo Imbrò, who once again appeared to be out of focus.

It's a minor problem considering the Super Cup is still in preseason, but it'll certainly take a lot more than that in a week's time to get to Roseto, where Flats Service's Serie A2 campaign begins. Organized fans are missing, not the "No to Protocol" banners against personal tickets, and not only that, but despite the Fossa being out, the Fortitudo fans are following the Effe in large numbers at the Pala De Andrè.

The game started off with a slow start, but gradually the baskets began to open up, and triples from Sorokas, Fantinelli, Della Rosa, and Mazzola gradually allowed Fortitudo to gain control, forcing Dell'Agnello to call a timeout at 16-9 after 8 minutes. Fortitudo extended the lead early in the second quarter with Sorokas, already in double figures and unstoppable. Rimini responded with a 0-7 counterbreak, and by the 15th minute the score was back to 30-31. The former Ogden player responded to Mazzola's call, putting Rimini ahead 30-31 after 17 minutes. Caja called timeout twice in quick succession to regroup. At the buzzer, Moore's triple tied the score at 34-34, which sent the teams into halftime. The second half began with two blazing shots from Robinson and Caja, who called another timeout after 1'37". Rimini's American duo attempted to turn the game around, then triples from Marini and Tomassini in the 24th minute put the Romagna team ahead 36-48. Sorokas and Moore didn't give up, and Effe came back into the mix, but at the 30th minute, the Romagna team maintained a 7-point lead. Rimini provided the decisive push to the match at the start of the final quarter with two consecutive 3-pointers from Denegri, which put the red and whites ahead 52-65 in the 33rd minute. With their backs against the wall, Effe had the character and strength to not give up and get back within 7, but it was once again former player Ogden and Denegri who pushed Effe back, who also lost Sorokas to injury towards the end.

"Congratulations to Rimini, we were slack on defense, we let them play," coach Caja said. "We need to learn from their aggressive and physical play. It'll be a good starting point and a lesson for us. Sorokas? It looks like he's just having a cramp."

FORTITUDO BOLOGNA-DOLE RIMINI 62-74

FLATS SERVICE BOLOGNA: Fantinelli 5, Moore 15, Sarto 3, Sorokas 21, Moretti 4; Della Rosa 5, Mazzola 7, Imbrò 2, Guiana, Barbieri n/a. Coach Caja.

DOLE RIMINI: Robinson 10, Denegri 15, Marini 9, Ogden 17, Simioni 4; Pollone 3, Sankare 2, Tomassini 12, Leardini 2, Della Chiesa, Camara 0. Coach: Dell'Agnello.

Referees: Paglialunga, Bartolomeo, Dionisi.

Notes: Partials 18-15, 34-34, 52-59. Two-pointers: Fortitudo 10-26; Rimini 15-28. Three-pointers: 8-29; 14-33. Free throws: 18-22; 2-3. Rebounds: 37; 33.