Nicola Brienza is the coach of the year. After Paolo Moretti in 2014 and Vincenzo Esposito in 2016, Nicola Brienza won the ‘Coach of the Year’ award, named for the first time after the legend Sandro Gamba, beating Luca Banchi (Virtus Segafredo Bologna) and Alessandro Magro (Germani) in the voting. Brescia). At the beginning of the season, Estra, considered by everyone to be doomed to relegation, played an incredible championship, first gaining access to the Final Eight of the Italian Cup, then salvation well in advance and finally entering the playoff grid from sixth in the standings, removing the satisfaction of beating teams like Milan, Bologna, Venice.
And after the best coach of the year, best scorer of the championship, Willis in the best quintet, Pistoia also wins the title of best manager of the year awarded to the current managing director Massimo Capecchi who was president until a few weeks ago .
“Receiving an award like the one that is being made official today by LBA is something absolutely incredible and unexpected – states Massimo Capecchi – as soon as I heard this I must say that I was moved. It is a recognition that derives from the work carried out, internally, by the general manager Ettore Saracca, by the sporting director Marco Sambugaro who, in recent seasons, has always set up teams capable of competing for any type of objective presented in front of him, managing to find the right players in the right place, both in A2 and in A1. And then the team and the coaching staff: in this regard I can only express my appreciation for the award awarded to Nicola Brienza, as well as the others that have been made official in the last few hours also for Charlie Moore and Payton Willis. but last but not least, I want to thank all those who preceded me at the helm of the club, the past and present councilors for their support, the sponsors who have always been at our side and all those who have followed us this year who, however it ends, it will remain in the history of our club. Thanks to this strong sharing of intent, and with the goals achieved from the promotion to Serie A up to the present day, I am happy that this type of work has been appreciated externally enough to be able to attract new investors as happened with the arrival, in these months, of Ron Rowan and the American entrepreneurs who took over the majority of the club’s shares”.
Maurizio Innocenti
