In 2016/17 the last Serie A post-season experience for Pistoia Basket. Who were the players and what do they do now?
We have written it often in recent days: Pistoia returns to qualify for the championship play-offs seven years after the last participation. And then the most delicious opportunity is right there go and see what happened then and, above all, who they were the favorites of PalaCarrara. The red and whites, in the first year under The Flexx, came from an extraordinary season, ended in sixth place (current club record). The technical guidance of Enzino “El Diablo” Esposito had given new impetus to the square and brought results: the only thing left to do was try to repeat yourself.
Of course the goal remained a salvation as peaceful as possible. In the team group there were excellent starts but also some confirmations: first and foremost Esposito’s two praetorians Ronnie Moore and Michele Antonuttiwho took the captaincy vacated by Ariel Filloy. Eric Lombardi also remained in Tuscanywhile the rest of the roster was completely revamped with one exception of the returning horse Daniele Magro (the second of the three chapters of his story in red and white). After facing some defection and having to make changes on the goThe Flexx Pistoia managed to reach the play-offs qualifying from seventh. The pairing put the future Italian champions Reyer Venezia in front of her: the series ended 3-1 in favor of the lagoon players, with the red and whites managing to give two post-season games at home to their fans.
|
|
|
WHO STILL PLAYS
If we really have to start from someone, we can do it by the player who most of all changed the balance in that season. We are obviously talking about Terran Pettewaywho also returned to Pistoia in 2019: today the Galveston native sniper is here in Kuwait at Qasdia, after two years in Israel at Hapoel Eliat. Nathan Boothe has also gone far: the winger/pivot, after excellent years in Europe, has decided to go and play in Japan and is in his second year with the Sendai 89ers.
It found a place in the hearts of the fans too the Englishman Teddy Okereafor. After Pistoia the playmaker born in 1992 continued to travel around Europe, also passing through Bologna on the Fortitudo side: today wears the Slavia Prague jersey in the Czech first division. The easiest to find on parquet are without a doubt Daniele Magro and Eric Lombardi. The first, after bringing Pistoia back to Serie A, remained in A2 and has recently moved on from Juvi Cremona to Forlì. We recently met the second one wearing the Brindisi shirt.
We close with the captain of that season. The “Swan of Colloredo” Michele Antonutti he ended his professional career in his native Udine last year, of which he later became brand ambassador. But the call of the field continued to be strong, enough to convince him to come down in Interregional B at now 37 years of age. In September he therefore signed with Falconstar Monfalconewhile at PalaCarnera his number 9 was hoisted onto the roof and consigned to history.
The list of “heroes of 16/17” still active, it ends here, with the obvious exception of those who were listed as under at the time: Marco Di Pizzo and Simone Angelucci, for example, have both remained in the area and are important elements of the Gema Montecatini in the National Serie B.
WHO HAS TAKEN OTHER ROADS
The leader of that The Flexx remains one and only one, that is Enzino Esposito. It’s curious to see how, after his three years in Pistoia, his coaching career has slowly progressed towards downsizing. Following the unfortunate adventures in Sassari and Brescia“El Diablo” has moved further and further away from a role that saw him on the rise. After refusing the bench of Fortitudo Bolognahe instead agreed to move to the Canary Islands in 2022 to train young prospects at Joel Freeman Academy.
Who instead decided to move from the field to the bench is Andrea Crosariol, which experienced one of its most brilliant seasons in Tuscany. He returned two years later without repeating himself and arriving at close with basketball played. The former Milanese pivot has so far had two short experiences at Eurobasket Roma and Del Fes Avellino in National Serie B: obviously there is time everything on his side.
A year later, i.e. in 2020, he also hung up his shoes Michael Jenkins: the former Brescia guard arrived in the last part of the regular season and gave his contribution to reach the play-offs. His last experience was in Russia to Nizhny Novgorod, with whom he played a few matches before saying enough. The post with which he announced the end of his basketball career iwas very impressive for the serenity expressed and for the motivation: after a lifetime of traveling the world, it was time to close and be with family.
And finally we come to the other leader of the locker room, namely Ronald Moore. The American point guard retired in 2021 after living his last stop in Hungary at Debreceni. Now he divides his time between two different businesses: he founded it together with his cousin Isaiah Baker a real estate agency who restores and sells homes in Philadelphia. With his brother Chuck he instead set up the Moore Brothers Basketball Inc.a program that aims to develop young aspiring basketball players.
