Next Gen Cup: from Thursday in Rovereto it's a big hunt for the Final Eight for the U19 Eccellenza
The second and final stage of the Next Gen Cup qualifying phase for Bertram Yachts Derthona Tortona is fast approaching . The youth expedition departs for Rovereto on Wednesday , and from Thursday, February 23rd, the four-day race will begin, running through Sunday, the 26th, in the Trentino provincial city.
At the PalaMarchetti, the black and white team will be in pole position to qualify for the Final Eight of the event organized by Legabasket and reserved for the Under-19 teams of the sixteen Serie A clubs . This privilege was acquired thanks to the precious haul of three wins out of three accumulated in the first stage in Pesaro last November, where the boys coached by Luca Ansaloni – still fighting for a spot in the National Under-19 Eccellenza Final and within the playoff zone in the Piedmontese Serie C Gold senior championship – edged out Happy Casa Brindisi, Banco di Sardegna Sassari, and UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia to settle into first place in Group A , joined only by Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro . This duo, along with Dolomiti Energia Trentino, hosts in the stage scheduled at the same time in Trento, represent the only teams still undefeated in the event.
The run of form achieved in the Marche region could allow captain Zonca and his teammates, strengthened for this occasion by the sole loan of Giacomo Zanetti from Vanoli Cremona, to make even a single victory in Rovereto enough to secure a spot in the top four of the group and secure a spot in the Final Eight scheduled for the PalaBarbuto in Naples from April 10th to 12th . But the young Tortona team will be chasing as many victories as possible to earn a more favorable top seed in the final event in Naples, organized in knockout matches with quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final to decide the winner of the 2022/23 edition.
In Trentino, the first match will be on Thursday morning (11:30 a.m.) with the top-seeded Pesaro , followed the next day (17:30 p.m.) by a clash with Pall. Trieste , the third-placed team in the group along with Nutribullet Treviso . The next match will be on Saturday (13:30 p.m.), before the final match (13 p.m.) against Varese Academy , one of the four teams in the entire list still stuck in a winless streak. All matches will be broadcast live on the official Legabasket website, www.legabasket.it
At the BLM Group Arena in Trento , Germani Brescia ( fresh from their victory in the Final Eight of the Coppa Italia for the “big” teams), Umana Reyer Venezia, Virtus Emil Banca Bologna, Givova Scafati, Tezenis Verona, EA7 Emporio Armani Milano and GeVi Napoli will be playing , in addition to the aforementioned host Dolomiti Energia Trentino.
STATEMENTS
Luca Ansaloni : “ It's true that we played well in the first three games, but we'll play the four toughest matches of our qualifying phase in Rovereto. So far, everything has gone as it should, but now comes the hard part. The buildup to the second stage seems to be going well; despite some poor results recently in both the C Gold and U19 Eccellenza divisions, we're all healthy. We should have Ansevini back, who has had a very unlucky season with injuries, and we'll also have Zanetti, the loan player we wanted to bring for this stage. The goal ,” continues the coach and technical director of the Derthona Basket youth sector, “ is obviously to qualify for the Final Eight. We'll try to earn it as soon as possible, starting with the match against Pesaro, even though it's far from easy .”
Claudio Coffano , president of Derthona Basketball Lab: “ It will be a very delicate four days for us. As usual, we ask the boys to give their all, also for their own satisfaction, to reach the Finals in Naples and thus continue to demonstrate the value of all these months. We are coming off of unhappy recent games in C Gold and U19 Eccellenza, we hope that the Next Gen atmosphere will restore the polish and intensity we showed in Pesaro. A possible access to the Final Eight would make us proud of what Dr. Gavio's ownership allows us to achieve with the youth teams. But also of the rest of the Derthona Basket world, led by President Marco Picchi and CEO Ferencz Bartocci: it would be a great satisfaction for them too .”
ROSTER This is the staff (year of birth in brackets) of Bertram Yachts Tortona for Rovereto:
Gloris Tambwe (2005)
Peter Lisini (2005)
Nicholas Errica (2005)
Dimitrije Jankovic (2004)
Tandia Sheets (2004)
Remigio Bellinaso (2005)
Davide Ansevini (2005)
Bruno Farias (2006)
Riccardo Armanino (2004)
Alessandro Moro (2005)
Alessandro Biaggini (2005)
Giacomo Zanetti (2005)
Carlo Zonca (2004)
Lorenzo Baldi (2005)
Head coach: Luca Ansaloni
Assistants: Federico Tosarelli , Marco Palumbo
Athletic Trainer: Marco Paccioni
Physiotherapist: Samuele Sangiorgi
Accompanying director: Diego Manassero
CALENDAR Below are all the Group A matches in the Rovereto concentration:
THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY
11 am Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro – Bertram Yachts Derthona Tortona
13pm Nutribullet Treviso – Happy Casa Brindisi
15pm Pall. Trieste – UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia
17pm Varese Basketball – Banco di Sardegna Sassari
FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY
11am UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia – Happy Casa Brindisi
13pm Varese Basketball – Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro
15pm Nutribullet Treviso – Banco di Sardegna Sassari
17pm Pall. Trieste – Bertram Yachts Derthona Tortona
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25
11 am Banco di Sardegna Sassari – UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia
13pm Bertram Yachts Derthona Tortona – Nutribullet Treviso
15pm Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro – Pall. Trieste
17pm Happy Casa Brindisi – Varese Basketball
SUNDAY 26 FEBRUARY
09:00 Banco di Sardegna Sassari – Pall. Trieste
11:00 Happy Casa Brindisi – Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro
13:00 PM Bertram Yachts Derthona Tortona – Varese Basketball
15pm UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia – Nutribullet Treviso
NEXT GEN CUP – RANKING AFTER 1ST STAGE PESARO
GROUP A
1) Bertram Yachts Tortona 6 points
1) Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro 6
3) Nutribullet Treviso 4
3) Basketball Trieste 4
5) Banco di Sardegna Sassari 2
5) UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia 2
7) Varese Basketball 0
7) Happy Casa Brindisi 0
GROUP B
1) Dolomiti Energia Trentino 6 points
2) EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 4
2) Umana Reyer Venice 4
2) Tezenis Verona 4
2) Gevi Napoli 4
6) Germani Brescia 2
7) Givova Scafati 0
7) Virtus Emilbanca Bologna 0
