Nicola Brienza is the new coach of Pallacanestro Cantù. All that was missing was the official announcement that arrived yesterday with the announcement by the Cantù club that it had signed a multi-year contract with the former red and white coach and also that of the termination of the red and white club. “AS Estra Pistoia Basket 2000 announces that it has reached, today, the agreement for the consensual termination of the contract with coach Nicola Brienza – reads the Pistoia Basket press release – Arrived in Pistoia in the summer of 2021 chosen by the sporting director Marco Sambugaro, with him on the bench the red and white team achieved extraordinary results for the club such as winning the A2 Super Cup in Lignano Sabbiadoro in September of the same year. In the 2021/22 season the progress stopped in game 5 of the playoff semi-finals but, from there, the foundations were laid for the 2022/23 championship feat which culminated with promotion to Serie A at the end of the final series against Torino. Also reconfirmed in the top league, the coach led the team to qualify for the Final Eight in the Italian Cup in Turin and in sixth place at the end of the regular season in the championship which earned them access to the championship play-offs against Brescia, on this occasion they would like to sincerely thank coach Nicola Brienza for his work of these three years, always carried out with the utmost commitment and professionalism, knowing that the goals achieved are among the most important in our history. Our sincere good luck to Nicola Brienza in the continuation of his career as a coach.”
For Brienza it is a homecoming in every sense. Born in Cantù, he began his career as a coach. “I am excited, happy, enthusiastic because it is a wonderful challenge that we are about to undertake together – says Nicola Brienza – and when there was the possibility of returning what thrilled me most was what I saw behind it. In recent years I have some details and a bit of luck are missing but we have to go and look for this one because it doesn’t come alone. As far as the category is concerned, I am a very proud person and I want to achieve the highest possible goals and Cantù can give me this type of path solutions and at first I would have preferred to stay in A1 and then when I spoke with the management I was fascinated by the project behind it and the idea of being part of it, from the dream of the Arena, to the high level planning, I he was very stimulating and I didn’t look to see if he was A1 or A2.”
Maurizio Innocenti
