IBSA Next Gen Cup: Allianz Derthona from tomorrow in Biella to secure the ticket for the Final Eight in Trento
For the second year in a row on the hunt for the Final Eight from a position of absolute privilege. L'Allianz Derthona Tortona leaves with encouraging prospects for the ssecond stage in Biella of IBSA Next Gen Cup 2023/24, the manifestation of Legabasket reserved for training Under 19 of the sixteen clubs of Serie A. In the midst of the Christmas atmosphere from the 26 29 December, in the two plants of Biella Forum and PalaPajetta, the Juventus team coached by Luca Ansaloni will look for the pass to the final phase of Trento, thus following the qualification for last year's Naples finals which ended in the semi-finals.
Protagonists of another good season with the current third place in the U19 Eccellenza youth championship and fourth in the Interregional Serie B senior tournament, the young Lions gained the advantage with 3 out of 3 victories in the opening stage in Varese to the detriment of the Pall hosts. Varese, of Vanoli Cremona and Virtus Emil Banca Bologna, which hoisted them to the top of the rankings Group A together withEA7 Emporio Armani Milan. The Biella event of Allianz will start against the Milanese opponent, who after their debut in the big match in prime time in the evening on the 26th will challenge the other teams in their group that have not yet faced each other in the following three days, the solitary bottom Scafati Basketball Academy (eighth with 0 points), the reigning champions of Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro , GeVi Naples, both fourth on equal merit with Napoli, Bologna and Cremona on 2, all behind Varese with 4. To secure a 100% secure place among the fateful top four in the ranking, two victories will be needed, but the objective is obviously to aim for maximum, also to reserve slightly less difficult matches in the Trentino event at the end of February against the teams of the other group, currently led with full points by Dolomiti Energia Trentino ahead of Nutribullet Treviso, Estra Pistoia and Pollini Brescia with 4 points, Banco di Sardegna Sassari, UnaHotels Reggio Emilia and Umana Reyer Venezia with 2 and Happy Casa Brindisi closing the ranking at 0.
FORMULA The top four teams in each group will qualify for the Final Eight in Trento on 22-24 February, resulting from the sum of the two qualifying stages. The Final Eight will be organized in direct elimination quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals and the final for the assignment of the title.
REGULATORY NEWS This edition of the IBSA Next Gen Cup serves as an experimental laboratory in the intentions of the organizers. The most significant innovations concern some technical rules which provide, among others, the assignment of points to the team in the event of successful pressing in the offensive half of the pitch with a basket scored on the first attempt after the ball is stolen, the lengthening of the achievement of the bonus the 6th team foul (and not the canonical 5th) in a quarter of the game and the team that has suffered the foul, not in shooting action, will be awarded a point and a free throw. Plus other regulatory innovations introduced with the idea that they can represent an element of speeding up the game, improvement and individual training of athletes. Experimentation also from a technological and digital point of view for the actors on the pitch, with a selection of players and coaches who will be miked from pre-match until the end in order to collect their dialogues, to make the match event more usable and enjoyable by the public connected through digital channels.
As off-field events there will be two i workshop scheduled in Biella, one dedicated to young people with the presence, among others, of the former Italian international Matteo Soragna, who will talk about his experience in the world of work after the end of his career, and the second to managers and coaches with interventions by the psychologist of sport Tonia Bonacci on the language and problems of the kids in the youth sectors in relation to what top sport asks of them and of the director of the Alqueria del Valencia Basket, Vlado Babic, for a moment of comparison with the Spanish youth movement and its successes repeatedly over the last twenty years.
STATEMENTS
The point guard Lorenzo Baldi, second best scorer for Allianz in Varese behind Lamine Tandia with 15.3 points plus 3.7 assists in 26.0 minutes on average: “The goal is always to get to the end, in this case at least to the Final Eight. We asked ourselves this at the beginning of the season and we will pursue it as long as we can. Fortunately, by doing the Interregional B championship in addition to the U19 championship, we have the opportunity to play often and this allows us to empty our heads and think about the next commitments in the right condition.".
MEDIA All the matches of the Biella concentration will be broadcast live on the official Legabasket website.
ROSTER This is the personnel available and the staff of the Allianz Derthona Tortona for the Biella stage:
Bruno Farias (180 cm, 2006, play)
Lorenzo Baldi (182 cm, 2005, play)
Nicholas Errica (190 cm, 2005, guard)
Davide Borasi (192 cm, 2007, wing)
Armin Korlatovic (204 cm, 2007, center)
Alessando Moro (186 cm, 2005, guard)
Gloris Tambwe (202 cm, 2005, center)
Lamine Tandia (202 cm, 2004, centre)
Tommaso Diodati (197 cm, 2006, wing)
Andrija Josovic (204 cm, 2006, wing)
Luca Viola (195 cm, 2006, wing)
Stefano Conte (187 cm, 2005, guard)
Andrea Bresciani (203 cm, 2008, wing)
Werther Bellinaso (194 cm, 2008, guard)
Gabriele Fonio Fracchia (190 cm, 2007, guard)
Marco Fogliato (195 cm, 2007, guard)
Timoty Van Der Knaap (204 cm, 2005, wing)
Head coach: Luca Ansaloni
Assistants: Federico Tosarelli, Paolo Censurini
Athletic trainer: Marco Paccioni
Physiotherapist: Andrea Cacciatore
Accompanying manager: Diego Manassero
CALENDAR Below are all the matches Group A in the Biella concentration:
TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER (Biella Forum)
15 pm: Pall. Varese – Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro
17 pm: Academy Scafati Basket – GeVi Napoli
19 pm: Virtus Emil Banca Bologna – Vanoli Cremona
21 pm: EA00 Emporio Armani Milan – Allianz Derthona Tortona
WEDNESDAY 27 DECEMBER (PalaPajetta)
11 am: Vanoli Cremona – Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro
13pm: Academy Scafati Basket – Allianz Derthona Tortona
15 pm: EA30 Emporio Armani Milan – Pall. Varese
17pm: GeVi Napoli – Virtus Emil Banca Bologna
THURSDAY 28 DECEMBER (Biella Forum)
10 am: EA30 Emporio Armani Milan – Academy Scafati Basket
12pm: GeVi Napoli – Vanoli Cremona
14pm: Pall. Varese – Virtus Emil Banca Bologna
16 pm: Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro – Allianz Derthona Tortona
FRIDAY 29 DECEMBER (PalaPajetta)
09am: Academy Scafati Basket – Pall. Varese
11am: GeVi Napoli – Allianz Derthona Tortona
13pm: Virtus Emil Banca Bologna – Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro
15pm: Vanoli Cremona – EA30 Emporio Armani Milan
