Another arrival for the 2024-2025 Apu Old Wild West. He is Giovanni Pini, a 205 centimeter pivot forward born in 1992. A player with great experience in the Serie A2 championship, he is destined to take the place of Quirino De Laurentiis, who says goodbye to Udine having signed for Vuelle Pesaro.
IDENTIKIT
Born in Carpi, Pini grew up in the youth sector of his hometown team, before moving to the youth sector of Reggiana, the team with which he made his debut in A2 in 2010. During his career he wore the uniforms of Avellino, Verona (in three distinct phases), Fortitudo Bologna, Virtus Roma, Cantù and in the last season Scafati. In his palmares he boasts a Eurochallenge with Reggiana and two promotions to Serie A, with Fortitudo in 2019 and with Verona in 2022.
COMMENTS
Sports director Andrea Gracis welcomes the Emilian big man with these words: «With Giovanni we are bringing in an expert player, who has always brought a great contribution in terms of solidity and reliability to the teams in which he has played». Coach Adriano Vertemati follows: «Pini has experience, a winning mentality and flexibility. He has always been a protagonist of this championship and with him we add an element of proven value to our forward department.”
PHILOSOPHY
For a year now, Apu has continued to include players with two characteristics in the roster: having already won the A2 championship and having already played together with other players from the Juventus group. Specifically, Pini, in addition to the two promotions to Serie A mentioned above, can claim to know well the movements of Lorenzo Caroti, his teammate in Verona in 2021-2022, the year of promotion to the final against Udine, and of Matteo Da Ros, with whom he fought the following year in Cantù. The other new arrival, Lorenzo Ambrosin, also has what it takes, having won a championship and a half (he was in Tortona in 2020-2021 and in Scafati until the clock phase in 2021-2022), and having shared the locker room with Iris Ikangi to Scafati.
THE POINT
The new Apu is seven tenths made, given that the two new arrivals add to the five confirmed ones: Caroti, Arletti, Ikangi, Alibegovic and Da Ros. One Italian and two foreigners are missing from the roll call. The most probable hypothesis is that we go for an American combo guard, an Italian big man and a foreigner. Much, however, depends on the market opportunities that arise on the Italian market. The Udine management, in fact, really likes Matteo Fantinelli, whose contract with Fortitudo is expiring. Many have set their sights on the “Fante”: however, it is unlikely that the “Effe” will miss out on the player, who will be offered a renewal.
