Livorno 54 years old, Luca Bechi is now a more than experienced coach in the national basketball scene. In twenty years as head coach he coached in the metropolis (Rome), in the super famous team (Virtus Bologna), in the provincial town (San Severo) and also abroad, in Ukraine in Mariupol, immediately before the war destroyed it to the ground. And then Turin, Brindisi, Cento, Hungary, the Stella Azzurra of young people. In the last three years, three small records: San Severo in the play-offs, the highest point in the history of basketball in the Apulian town, the direct salvation with the Stella Azzurra which had never happened to the Roman team and the promotion play-offs with Cremona, This is also the highest result ever achieved by the glorious Ju Vi in 70 years of history. Furthermore, he is a true Livorno, still very attached to the city and its basketball environment. There are few more suited than him to make plans for the near future of PL and Libertas.
Coach, you have never coached in Serie B. Yet he knows her very well…
«Yes, because Serie B is a formidable reservoir of players suited to A2, which you need to know. Take Giacomo Dell’Agnello. Years of apprenticeship in Serie B and in two seasons he became a dominant player in A2 so much so that Cividale renewed his contract in recent days, something you do when you really don’t want to let a player get away.”
There is already playoff fever in the city. Two teams, one first and one second. People scrutinize the scoreboards, looking at the first round but also at who could be the opponents in the subsequent ones. Let’s try to see what awaits the two teams.
«First of all, let’s start by saying that the playoffs are an ugly beast. I would say that in the playoffs the players count more than us coaches. Because there are players who amplify their performance in the post season and others who decrease it, who adapt poorly, who struggle to handle the pressure of those days.”
Is it also due to the fact that you play in practice every other day?
«This is also a factor. But if at first glance it may seem good to win the series 3-0 and have a week of rest, this is not always the case. Even rest must be managed well.”
Let’s see what awaits the two Livorno girls, starting with the first place. By the way, for the PL there was doubt for weeks between Imola and San Severo, which you know very well. Is this better or would the other option have been more favorable?
«I consider them teams of the same level. As for Imola, he obtained a probably unexpected result and will be able to play the series without performance anxiety. PL undoubtedly favoured, but nothing to be taken for granted and maximum concentration.”
And for a possible semi-final?
«Eh, here the difficulty bar would be raised quite a bit. Avellino struggled a bit in the championship and was only certain of the playoffs at the end, but now it will be able to put all the experience of its most important players on the scales. San Vendemiano had a very regular run, without ups and downs, they are used to the post season. Two bad customers. But let’s not forget that the PL did something extraordinary this year: 16 consecutive victories in the national championships are something that happens once every 10 years, maybe not even. And this couldn’t have happened by chance.”
And we come to Libertas…
«Here I see the difficulties more in the first round than in the second. Faenza started with great expectations which were largely disappointed. After Garelli’s arrival things improved but not to the point where we can say that all the problems have been solved. I see a possible semi-final as softer, I believe that Libertas are superior to both Gema and Jesi, who are however a solid team. Because Libertas also has men at its disposal who have played in plenty of playoff games.”
Let’s suppose that one or even both Livorno teams achieve promotion. What would be the very first thing they should do?
«Deciding who to keep among the Italians. In A2 there are 8 Italians by birth and education. Having a core group of Italians who are up to par is fundamental. There are no longer foreigners who alone save teams.”
And how do you budget, thinking from a safety perspective?
«600,000 in total salaries, for a total budget of one million two hundred, one million five hundred thousand euros».
The play offs will also begin on May 5th for Luca Bechi and his Cremona. How do you get there?
“Not satisfied, but with the spirit of someone who knows they have done their duty in full and even more. This year’s A2 formula was terrible: 6 relegations, 25% of the participants, one in every four. Stuff never seen. The company, by providing us with one of the lowest budgets in the category, asked us to save ourselves in some way, even by going through the play outs. We did it directly and this opened the doors to the play-offs where we will find Udine, one of the big names in the championship, perhaps the second after Trapani. One game at a time…”
