Umberto Gandinipresident of Legabasket, was interviewed this morning on the frequencies of Radio Anch’io Sport on Rai Radio 1, where he defended the quality of Italian basketball and recognized the international dimension of our two symbolic teams.
Duopoly. “Today, the rivalry between Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna represents the pinnacle of our basketball. This trend is also found in other major European countries, with a few exceptions. The championship was extremely interesting: Brescia played an excellent season, losing first place only in the last few days. Venice also played a leading role, and other teams, despite starting badly, managed to recover. The titles up for grabs took different paths: Super Cup in Bologna, Italian Cup in Naples. The championship was exciting, but it is clear that other factors come into play in the final phase and in the playoffs. Currently, Milan and Bologna are the best equipped teams.”
International dimension. “On an international level, the EuroLeague represents an exclusive club and being part of it is already a privilege. The participating teams are extremely equipped, with deep rosters and almost unlimited budgets. Virtus Bologna played a splendid European season, managing to play for the qualification to the playoffs via the play-in. Olimpia Milano, despite various injuries and many difficulties during the season, ennobled the year by winning the Italian title.”
This year recorded significant growth figures in the arenas (+9.2% overall at the end of the regular season compared to the previous year) and in television ratings. “We have certainly invested a lot in visibility, to make known the stories, the characters, the players, the coaches who are behind sporting successes, because this is what the public wants today. The pitch proved us right, the arenas filled up and we returned to pre-pandemic numbers, reaching attendances that hadn’t been this high for many years. Despite the difficulty of having arenas of very different sizes, I hope that these numbers are the beginning of a new wave. We will try to do everything possible to bring together the interests of all 16 Serie A clubs but also of the entire movement behind it. This year Trapani and Trieste were promoted, the latter having risen to Serie A2 after just one year and this gives us hope because there is a great desire for basketball. What we are counting on is the desire to grow further on the part of large consortia and great entrepreneurs who want to continue the strength of basketball.”
