Reyer Venezia, sometimes they come back: a great former for after Spahija
In the Reyer household, Neven Spahija has long had his suitcase in hand. For his replacement, which barring sensational twists and turns will materialize at the end of the playoffs, the name of Ettore Messina remains more a suggestion than a concrete track, while the Paolo Galbiati option seems very complicated, unless he unexpectedly leaves Baskonia, where there is talk of a possible renewal. Watch out also for the Sasha Djordjevic hypothesis, with whom contacts through agents are already underway.
On the bench front, the picture is becoming more and more defined. After Luca Banchi declined the offer to focus exclusively on the Azzurri project, not intending to burden himself with the double assignment, the Venetian management has widened its scope. Also on the list is Francesco Tabellini, who has just returned from his experience at Paris Basketball.
Since Luca Banchi, who was the No. 1 target and has called it quits because he does not intend to burden himself with the double assignment, the Orogranata club is considering the Frank Vitucci hypothesis. The seasoned Venetian coach, who made a name for himself in great Italian basketball precisely with Reyer (he was deputy from 1986 to 1993 and then head coach until 1996), must decide whether to continue with Scafati or end his winning experience in A2 after bringing the Campani back to the top league.
It is no coincidence that Vitucci’s name is back in overbearing prominence right now: the coach ended the A2 regular season by achieving direct promotion to Serie A with Givova Scafati, a result that further enhanced his prestige and makes his position as coveted as it is complicated to vacate. The decision on what to do with his future is therefore up to him, and Venice awaits.
On the player market front, meanwhile, Reyer is moving with equal determination. The Orogranata have set their sights on Alvise Sarto, a Venetian born in 2000 who grew up in Benetton and Universo Treviso and is performing well with the Fortitudo Bologna jersey, to which he is bound by a two-year contract expiring in 2027. The youngster’s qualities were also blatantly confirmed during the playoffs: emblematic was his performance on the court of Brindisi, where he put up 24 points with 6/9 from the arc, turning out to be the MVP of an external success that helped consolidate Effe’s third place in the standings.
Among the alternatives for the external department, the Orogranata club is also considering Octavio Maretto, a 22-year-old wing-guard born in 2004 who was among the protagonists of Pesaro’s great season in A2. On the oriundo, however, there is competition from Apu Udine, a club that has already shown the ability to move decisively in the market. The scenario could change drastically in case one of Fortitudo Bologna and VL Pesaro, engaged in the A2 playoffs, should hit promotion, redrawing the market balance for all the clubs involved.
