Ruvo di Puglia has focused heavily on players who have little to do with Serie B, starting with the slinger Darryl Jackson
Ruvo di Puglia it’s a battleship set out with the declared objective of moving up and full of players taken from the higher category so as not to fail the mission. The mission, so far, has perhaps had a few too many hitches, considering the many injuries that have devastated the team from pre-season to now, in addition to the double change of technical leadership that brought coach to the bench at the beginning of April Stefano Rajola after the deputy’s replacement Gianpaolo Ambricowho in turn took over as coach in March Federico Campanella. So far, Tecnoswitch’s season has however achieved a second place of the season in group B (25 wins and 9 losses) and the finish line in the semi-final at the Roman Final Four of the Italian Cup. The roster is very long and packed, so much so that it can allow itself the luxury of leaving two seniors in the stands for each match. And Ruvo has focused heavily on players who have little to do with Serie B, starting with the slinger Darryl Jackson, arguably one of the three best players in the league. The duo in the control room is also super Happy And Traini they represent an A2 pairing, without forgetting the long and talented ones music stand And Galmarini. To these heavy names must be added those of the players who are certainties for Serie B as Toniato, Ghersetti, Eliantonio And Diomedes. In the quarterfinals Ruvo di Puglia struggled quite a bit to get the better of Piombinocapable of taking the series to the decisive game 5, won by coach Rajola’s team on Wednesday evening at PalaColombo.
THE QUINTET
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The star of the team is the 38-year-old American slinger, with Maltese citizenship, Darryl Jackson. In Italy he has been playing for 10 years, mainly in A2 clubs, including Roseto, Casalpusterlengo, Forlì, Scafati and Chieti. This season he has dropped to Serie B, where he dominates, as demonstrated by the 19.3 points per game, without forgetting the 2.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 31.6 minutes, shooting 45% from three points. Another superior category element is the point guard, born in 1991, Marco Contento (12.6 points, 2.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 27.8′), fresh from seasons in A2 with Roseto, Scafati, San Severo and already tested in B having played a great role against Rieti. Complete the exterior package Luca Toniato, 10.4 points and 5 rebounds in 30.9′, veteran of Serie B, having played for Rimini, Crema, San Vendemiano and Livorno, before arriving in Puglia last season. In the long department the Apulian plays a key role Gianmarco Leggio, arrived in the summer from Monferrato. Thirty years, a career that saw him as a protagonist in A2 and B, and a season in which for performance and consistency he was among the best in Tecnoswitch. A shooter with a hot and precise hand (44% from three points and 68% from two points), so far he has also brought 13.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in 28.8 minutes. Complete the quintet Lorenzo Galmarini, another long one (2 meters) with a polite hand from the 6.75 range. Formerly Montecatini, before arriving in Ruvo he played in A2 with Assigeco Piacenza and in this year he came close to achieving a double double as demonstrated by 9.9 points and 7.9 rebounds on average in 28 minutes.
THE BENCH
The first change in the exteriors is the director Andrea Traini, a talented player and personality who in his career has defended the colors of prestigious and historic places of local basketball such as Naples, Recanati, Udine, Montegranaro, Turin, Rieti, Capo d’Orlando and Avellino. In Puglia, he scored 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 29.8. The first substitution of the big men is the eternal one Mario Ghersetti, a 42-year-old Italian-Argentine winger, capable of still being among the protagonists of this Serie B, as demonstrated by his 7.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in 20.2 minutes. Another big man with an infinite career is the class of ’88 Giacomo Eliantonio (4.9 points in 16.4′), a good shooter even from distance and another element of great personality within the roster. Also among the long ones, the giant stands out (209 centimetres) Ilia Boev, born in 2001 who has already worn the shirts of Cantù, Chieti and Corato in his career. His contribution to Ruvo is 4.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in 10.8 minutes. Among the wingers he also has important responsibilities and minutes Manuel Diomede, 34 year old, veteran of B, already faced with the vests of Chieti, Salerno, Rieti and Taranto. For Diomede there are 6.2 points in 18.9 minutes with his shoes on. Lorenzo Deri is currently out due to injury (3.4 points in 15.9′), a player who has lost several months in the infirmary this season. They complete the infinite roster of Ruvo di Puglia Armin Mazic (1.1 points in 13.8′) e Giacomo Granieri (0.1 points in 2.4′).
THE COACH
Stefano Rajola arrived on the Ruvo di Puglia bench at the beginning of April. Born in Pescare in 1972, as a coach he won a championship on the bench of Amatori Pescara, and then spent two seasons on the bench of Ancona. Assistant coach of Fortitudo Bologna, in 2022 he coached Chieti in A2, but was unable to avoid relegation. As a player he was a protagonist on the A and A2 pitches, with a long career that led him to wear, among others, the shirts of Napoli, Cremona, Reggio Calabria, Teramo, Scafati, Ferrara.
