Next Gen Cup: the hunt for the 2023/24 title of the LBA U19 tournament starts on Monday in Varese. Allianz Derthona starts again from last year's semi-final
It's the eve of the first of the two stages of the qualifying phase of the IBSA Next Gen Cup 2023/24 for the 'Allianz Derthona Tortona. The team coached by Luca Ansaloni starts again from the three days of Varese scheduled from Monday 30 October to Wednesday 1 November in the tournament Legabasket reserved for training Under 19 of the sixteen Serie A clubs.
The Bianconeri Lions are included in the Group A together with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Virtus Emil Banca Bologna, Gevi Naples, Academy Scafati Basket, Vanoli Cremona, the reigning champions of Pesaro and the hosts of the Varese basketball, Allianz's opponents in their debut on Monday, followed by matches in the next two days Cremona e Virtus Bologna. In Group B there is space for Nutribullet Treviso, Banco di Sardegna Sassari, Umana Reyer Venezia, Dolomiti Energia Trentino, Estra Pistoia, Happy Casa Brindisi, UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia and Pollini Brescia. Sixteen teams that will play on the pitch in the Varese concentrationItelyum Arena of Masnago and the Campus of Via Pirandello into which the disputes of the matches were divided. Allianz will be in Lombardy in an emergency, with the long-term injured Pietro Lisini added to by the heavy absence of Nicholas Errica and the doubt linked to the condition of captain Alessandro Moro's ankle. On the other hand, Timoty Van Der Knapp arrives from Orange1 Bassano to strengthen the squad, for the only loan available to each team.
FORMULA The top four teams in each group will qualify for the Final Eight scheduled for Trento from 22 to 24 February 2024. They will emerge at the end of the two qualifying stages, with the second scheduled for 26 to 29 December in Biella. In total, in the two concentrations of Varese and Biella, each team will play 7 matches. 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.
ANNOUNCEMENTS' This edition of the IBSA Next Gen Cup will act as an experimental laboratory in the intentions of the organizers. The most relevant news concerns some technical rules which provide, among others, the assignment of points to the team in case of successful pressing in the offensive half of the pitch with a basket scored on the first attempt after stealing the ball, the extension of the achievement of the bonus at the 6th team foul (and not to the canonical 5th) in a quarter of the game and awarding to the team that has suffered the foul, not in shooting action, one point and one 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.
This year too there will be no shortage of the educational aspect reserved for players: speaker at the workshop on the evening of the first day by A Better Basketball will be Gigi Datome, who will tell the kids about his experience and the career path he took to gain the knowledge that led him to embark on a new adventure in the world of basketball after his recent retirement.
STATEMENTS
Claudio Coffano, president of the youth sector of Derthona Basket: “The two previous editions brought us very good results, we hope that this one will also give us the same satisfaction. We are in a moment in which the team has had good tests and small failures, we hope that the air of the Next Gen will bring us back to having that determination and desire that have brought us well in previous years. We have the possibility to move forward, I know that the boys care a lot and then, as I always tell them, the important thing is to honor the shirt, the result then comes by itself or in any case it is the least important fact".
Luca Ansaloni, head coach of Allianz: “High-level matches await us immediately, we have already met Varese in the Serie B Interregional, it was not the same team, we will also be slightly different, but Varese is certainly of very high value. It will be a very tough debut with them, also because we will get there limited in terms of available boys because others have been added to the injured players we already had on the first day of the championship. For this reason, the second and third matches will also become very demanding because close efforts will lead to a sustained effort from our players, furthermore Cremona and Virtus Bologna are also of excellent value. These first three matches will give us the measure of the values on the pitch, which always need to be verified as they are teams from different groups in the championship. What's new in the regulations? We all have to take measures a bit, I understand that it's trying new things to then try to introduce them into the senior championships and these events lend themselves well. We'll see how it goes, how they work.".
MEDIA All the matches of the Varese concentration will be broadcast live on the official Legabasket website.
ROSTER This is the personnel and staff of the Allianz Derthona Tortona for the Varese stage:
Bruno Farias (180 cm, 2006, play)
Lorenzo Baldi (182 cm, 2005, play)
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)
Stefano Conte (187 cm, 2005, guard)
Andrea Bresciani (203 cm, 2008, wing)
Werther Bellinaso (194 cm, 2008, guard)
Timoty Van Der Knapp (204, 2005, wing)
Head coach: Luca Ansaloni
Assistants: Federico Tosarelli, Dario Albasini
Athletic trainer: Marco Paccioni
Physiotherapist: Andrea Cacciatore
Accompanying manager: Diego Manassero
CALENDAR Below are all the matches of Group A in the Varese concentration:
MONDAY OCTOBER 30rd
12 pm (Itelyum Arena): Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro – Gevi Naples
14 pm (Itelyum Arena): EA00 Emporio Armani Milan – Virtus Emil Banca Bologna
15 pm (Campus): Vanoli Cremona – Academy Scafati Basket
18 pm (Itelyum Arena): Pall. Varese – Allianz Derthona Tortona
TUESDAY OCTOBER 31
11 am (Campus): Virtus Emil Banca Bologna – Academy Scafati Basket
13 pm (Campus): Allianz Derthona Tortona – Vanoli Cremona
15 pm (Campus): Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro – EA30 Emporio Armani Milan
18 pm (Itelyum Arena): Gevi Napoli – Pall. Varese
WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER
09 am (Itelyum Arena): Academy Scafati Basket – Carpegna Prosciutto Papalini Pesaro
11:00 am (Campus): EA7 Emporio Armani Milan – Gevi Naples
13pm (Itelyum Arena): Allianz Derthona Tortona – Virtus Emil Banca Bologna
15pm (Itelyum Arena): Pall. Varese – Vanoli Cremona
