Basketball: Olimpia for the consecutive trio, Virtus to win again after 21 years. In Turin the Final Eight of the Italian Cup

TURIN – Milan hunting for the trio of consecutive victories, Bologna for a cup that has been missing from the V Nere for 21 years. The Frecciarossa Final Eight of the Coppa Italia begins the day after Valentine’s Day, an act of love for the fans of Turin, the city that will host the eight best teams in Italy at the PalaAlpitour. There will be a bit of melancholy in the supporters of the Piedmontese capital, who five years ago, at the Mandela Forum in Florence, won the only trophy in the history of Auxilium Torino, which then disappeared the following season submerged in debt. The success of the team coached by Paolo Galbiati was a surprise, but not the only one, given that the following year Vanoli Cremona triumphed, today in Serie A2 together with the renewed Turin, and the following year it was Venice’s turn in the final against Pesaro. Although many insiders argue that winning the Coppa Italia means, for a team aiming for the Scudetto, having got in shape too early, it is difficult to imagine a different name for this year than that of theEA7 Armani Milano or Segafredo Bologna in the golden register of the event.

The two battleships dancing with the others

Even if the Serie A standings are short at the top, with Bertram Tortona in third place two points behind the Milan-Bologna duo, the roster of the two Italian teams in the Euroleague is impressive in terms of depth and quality. It would be obvious to foresee a final between EA7 Armani, who opens the event with the first quarter-final against Brescia scheduled for Wednesday 15 at 18, and Virtus, which will face Thursday 16 at 18 the Human Reyer Venice. However the past has taught us that by formula, with knockout matches, and by moment of the season, with the battleships engaged between Serie A, Euroleague and precisely the Coppa Italia, surprises are just around the corner. Four days of basketball, five if you include the day of rest between the quarterfinals and semifinals, at its maximum expression for our movement, many champions on the field on the parquet floor of the Pala Alpitour in Turin. The eyes of fans will be focused on the control booths of Milan and Bologna, with Shabazz Napier who, since his arrival at Armani, has changed the face of the team, and the Serbian Teodosic who is the soul and inspiration of Segafredo Bologna. Not only that, because on the pitch the fans from Turin and beyond will be able to admire champions of the caliber of Belinelli, Melli, Delfino, Datome, Hines, Della Valle. There is a lot of curiosity for the Final Eight in Tortona, which reached the final last year to general amazement and confirmed itself this season as evidenced by the third place in the championship just two points from the top.

The five day programme

The finals will unofficially begin on Valentine’s Day with a screening of the documentary “A coach as a father”, a work created and directed by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory and which celebrates Sandro Gamba and his long career made up of successes on the pitch and on the bench, which allowed him to enter the world basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield together with two other Italians, Cesare Rubini and Dino Meneghin. Gamba, after his career as a player in Milan, also coached Auxilium Turin from 1977 to 1980, contributing to the development of basketball in the city of the Mole. The 90-year-old coach will be present at the screening together with the director, Finazzer Flory, and Charlie Caglieris, the star of Turin basketball. The next day, Wednesday 15, the camp will start, with the first day of the quarterfinals, which will begin with the match between EA7 Milano and Germani Brescia at 6 pm followed at 8.45 pm by Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro against Openjobmetis Varese. Thursday will be the day of Segafredo Bologna against Umana Venezia followed by the match between the Piedmontese team Bertram Tortona against Dolomiti Energia Trento. Semi-finals (the winners of the two days will face each other) scheduled at 6 and 8.45 pm on Saturday, while the final will always be played at the PalaAlpitour at 6 pm on Sunday: all the matches will be broadcast live on Eleven Sport, DMax and Eurosport. The tickets for the final are sold out, the semi-finals are running out, still available for the quarterfinals.