With the official confirmation from Pietro Agostini, which arrived on Wednesday 12 June immediately after that of pivot Knight Quarisa, the new face of Knights begins to take shape and character. Next to Nik Raivio, under the guidance of coach Paolo Piazza, several players are taking their places who according to the GM Maurizio Basilico have the right characteristics to face the National Serie B with “grit and dynamism”.
Starting from the 25 year old Agostini, whose arrival had already been widely announced, but not yet made official by Casa Knights, the structure of the red and white team is taking shape. «Last season Agostini was an opponent of the Knights with the Rieti shirt and then with Salerno. He is an energetic and versatile big man, capable of opening up even on the perimeter, with his flexibility he will be able to be an important added value, providing a deep and physical dimension. He will wear the number three shirt.”
Pietro Agostini will wear the Knights shirt
The pivot on which Legnano is betting everything is the 32-year-old Quarisa: 204 centimeters tall, 109 kilos, last season he wore the colors of Sant’Antimo, opponent in the SAE Scientifica championship. He will wear the number 11 shirt. Long with a great propensity to play in the paint, he is a born rebounder, so much so that he was the best rebounder in the group and second in the entire National Serie B. «Quarisa – specifies Basilico – he was a difficult opponent in the matches with Sant’Antimo and his personal statistics do not give an idea of how much impact he can have. We believe we have a very strong big man for this championship.”
Legnano Basket has a new pivot: Andrea Quarisa says “Yes”
Going in order of engagement we then find Guglielmo Sodero: he will be the starting guard of SAE Scientifica for the 2024/2025 season. The winger born in 1993 is a well-known face for the Legnano fans: in the 2023/24 season he was an opponent of the red and whites in the National B, wearing the Desio shirt. He will now wear the number 21. «Con Sodero we acquire a dangerous player in attack and a great competitor – says GM Basilico -. We have always appreciated him as a cynical opponent capable of scoring from afar, which in the past has hurt us a lot in some circumstances.”
Legnano Basket, Sodero will wear the number 21 jersey of the Knights
The first arrival, after the certainty of Nik Raivio’s stay in Legnano, was that of point guard Francesco Oboe. He also defended the Crema shirt last season. Play with a height of 192 cm which exceeds the average of the same role, has excellent vision of the game and a great aptitude for rebounding. «Replacing Tommaso Marino we knew it wouldn’t be easy, but with Francesco Oboe we have certainly acquired a player of great value and excellent prospect – says Basilico -. We have already been following him since his time in Pavia where he was coached by our former Mazzetti, and in recent seasons we have seen important improvements in leadership on the pitch. We are convinced that we have signed a player who will certainly be the protagonist of the championship and who is the first piece of the new team; it goes without saying that the point guard plays a central role in building the team and with Francesco we got off to a great start.”
Legnano Basket, Francesco Oboe is officially a Knights
Raivio the American, now from Legnano, had already embraced the red and white project last summer, strongly wanting to return to the city of the Northern League and signing for two years, with the renunciation of other offers even in higher series. The loyalty of Raivio it did not go unnoticed by the Knights management who immediately seized the opportunity to welcome the Portland native back into their team. «Nik is a certainty and there were no doubts about him – explains Basilico -. We started thinking about the new team starting from the best scorer in the group and a person we know well. We are happy that he still has the desire and “hunger” to play with us and for us. As always, it will be a pleasure to see him on the pitch wearing our shirt.”
Legnano Basket starts again from Raivio and keeps an eye on Sangiorgese
The championship formula
The championship will start the last week of September and will end on April 27th with one match during the Christmas holidays and one on January 5th.Two groups of 21 teams that will face each other with home and away matches for a total of 42 matches. The two play-in teams and the teams classified from 1st to 6th place at the end of the qualifying phase will enter the play-offs, and will meet in crossed groups (sequence home; home; away; away; home). The two finalists will be promoted to Serie A2. The third promotion will be determined by a play-off on a neutral pitch between the two losers of the play off finals.
Legnano Basket, many new features for an “NBA” championship: 40 games in 7 months
