IBSA Next Gen Cup, Allianz Derthona ends with three wins out of four in the first stage of Varese. Statements from the responsible manager Ablatico
The first stage ofIBSA Next Gen Cup 2024/25 it ended in Varese with a positive balance for theUnder 19 Excellence ofAllianz Derthona Tortona, which obtained three victories (against Napolibasket, Pall. Varese and Virtus Bologna) and one defeat. At the second and final stage of the qualifying phase, scheduled in Rimini from 2 to 4 January, the Leoni will present themselves as the first force in Group A with equal points with Virtus Bologna, Pistoia and Cremona, with the hope of finishing among the top four in the standings that will qualify for the Final Eight in February in Brescia.
Statements from the manager responsible for the youth sector Andrea Ablatic at the end of the Varese concentration: “It was a very rewarding four days for both us and the boys, I thank Marco Aloi and all Legabasket for the organization. I also thank the College Basketball Borgomanero company for their willingness to lend us Adriano Bazan, hoping he will be with us for the next stages too. It's a complicated group because there were some surprise results, we started slowly against Pistoia but we managed to close very well with the last victory against Virtus thanks to the basket from half court at the last second by Edoardo Aprile, which gave great joy and satisfaction to everyone. It's always a pleasure - keep it going - to be able to meet all together with managers and coaches, to talk about this sport in the youth field. There are many prospects, so we are happy to have given this experience to our boys. As said before, despite the very challenging group we are 3-1 and now it's time to go to Rimini with three games left to play and win as many as possible. It's the first time that we have had to win 5 games out of 7 to qualify for the final phase, but I am confident. We will play against Scafati, Cremona and Trento, the latter remains the favorite, despite the incidents along the way, together with Milan for the victory of the event. Thanks to the results acquired we can say where we are at this point in the season and the answers are certainly positive ". Ablatico closes with a reflection: “I make one last note. At Next Gen there are the 16 youth teams of Serie A, we have a movement where we all always complain for more complex reasons, but the first ones who should ask ourselves some questions are us. Between Serie B Interregionale, Serie B Nazionale and Serie A2 there are about 300 coaches who work in basketball and in these four days in Varese, between coaches and assistants, I have only seen three. Surely those who were not present will have informed themselves and the coaches of Serie A have their finger on the pulse of the situation. But seeing so few of them, after some Serie B teams complain about the short bench not knowing which players to take by relying on agents, we should ask ourselves two questions as a movement”.
