it’s like the Golden State Warriors – Corriere.it

A historic anniversary, full of glory, is linked to a happy moment marked by a relaunch. Let’s talk about Pallacanestro Varese, which on Wednesday 22 March celebrates the 50th anniversary of the success of Liège over the Red Army in the final of the then Champions Cup. The one that prevailed 71-66, dominating the first half, managing the second and making the third European title her own (two more would come), was the great Ignis. Indeed, probably the greatest of the dominating Varese basketball formations of the 70s. The team was in fact capable of an extraordinary slam, that is to say of winning in all four competitions, national and international, in which it participated: championship, Coppa Italia, Coppa of Champions and then Intercontinental Cup for clubs.

Today that memory becomes the guiding star for a team, Openjobmetis, which after difficult years it is experiencing a year that exceeds all expectations – and this in spite of the bad defeat in the last match, Sunday 19 in Sassari -, in the name of an NBA-style way of playing which represents a unicum in Europe. The important site Basketballnews has devoted an extensive report to this phenomenon. In short, the road to relaunch, which is intended to lead to a new international dimension, follows an unprecedented path, which can be associated with the philosophy of a great former opponent of Varese, Mike D’Antoni. In these days the project should then be enriched by the contribution of Ross Pelligra and his Australian real estate group: the entrepreneur with Sicilian roots who has just brought Catania football back to Serie C is about to acquire 45% of the shares of the Lombard basketball company, joining the patron Luis Scola (who will remain with a golden share), the Varese nel Cuore consortium and to the fans’ trust Il Basket Siamo Noi.

Let’s go in order and start from a past that time hasn’t discolored at all. 1973 marked the apotheosis of Varesethat he had already scored a poker of victories in 1970, but with the distinction that the Intercontinental Cup was won in September and therefore that success technically belonged to the 1970-71 season. Doing 4 out of 4 in a single year thus remains an absolute feat and even the illustrious magazine Sports Illustrated she bothered herself by inserting Ignis among the strongest teams in the history of basketball. And to think that it all started almost by accident. In the summer of 1968 the disappointing outcome of the previous championship (fifth place) had in fact induced the management to dismantle the group and to dictate a drastic change of course which had the (winning) strength in trusting a young talent named Dino Meneghin. It was the beginning of the greatest cycle of victories in Italian basketballwhich lasted 12 years with the conquest of 7 championships, 5 European Cups (with participation in ten consecutive finals), 4 Italian Cups and 3 Intercontinental Cups.

The celebration of March 22, 1973 coincides, as we said, with the service of Basketballnews, which started from a simple question: what would happen if an NBA team played in European tournaments? The answer: now we have the proof, Varese-Openjobmetis basketball is doing it. Which is obviously not a professional franchise, but which is following the principles of that basketball. Luis Scola wanted a dynamic, fast team, capable of unleashing enthusiasm (the sold out arena proves it), outside the box. He entrusted it to Matt Brase, Mike D’Antoni’s former deputy — here is the great opponent from his time at Olimpia Milano — who is applying a concept dear to the former boss: 7 seconds or less to go to shot.
Basketballnews he analyzed in detail the schemes and principles of the Varese game – which does not have an anthology defense, but which has the best attack in the championship – and arrived at a synthesis: in some respects it recalls the way of being on the field of the Golden State Warriors. So the little Warriors will try to retrace the paths of glory beaten by their illustrious predecessors. And if the Aussie partners come along, it might actually be possible to make it to the finish one day.