Giordano Bortolani on'farewell to Cantù: "They did not offer me to stay"
“I would have liked to take some steps with Cantù, I was really willing, but I did not feel the same desire on the other side. Several interesting opportunities presented themselves to me right away, and I decided not to wait and move accordingly. It was not my choice, but I was not presented with a real chance to continue in Cantù. I was very sorry, but I also know that these are dynamics that, in our work, can happen.” Giordano Bortolani, interviewed by La Provincia di Como, says goodbye to the Brianza club with a hint of bitterness. Next season he will wear the Bertram Tortona jersey.
The Sicilian outfielder born in 2000 had experienced a more than positive season in the biancoblù jersey, finishing with 12.8 points average in 24.3 minutes and 36.8% from the arc, proving to be one of the most reliable elements in the difficult salvation race of the brianzoli. A performance that had inevitably attracted the attentions of several clubs, with Pallacanestro Varese and Bertram Tortona moving decisively in recent weeks.
In Tortona, Bortolani will also find again Amar Alibegovic, another new entry of Bertram’s summer market: the 1995 class big forward, just back from a season in Spain at Granada after the stormy affair linked to the Trapani Shark, has also chosen the Piedmontese club as his next destination, thus completing a double market coup that significantly strengthens the roster.
On the Cantù front, on the other hand, the Brianza management is already at work to plug losses and build a competitive team around new coach Frank Vitucci, called by new general manager Simone Giofrè to take up the legacy of Walter De Raffaele. A proven axis, the one between the two, already successfully experimented in Varese and especially in Brindisi, where together they had built a cycle that had included four qualification to the playoffs scudetto and two Italian Cup finals.
To fill the gaps left by the departures, the Brianza club is working on several profiles. Among the names being followed with greatest interest is that of Liam Udom, a class of 2000 wing who just returned from an excellent season with Rieti in Serie A2, where he had recorded 11.4 points, 3.7 assists and 44.2 percent from the arc. The Brianza club would be ahead in the race for the player, also appreciated for his defensive qualities and already summoned by Luca Banchi’s national team last October. Also in the background remains the track leading to Andrea Loro, a young prospect from Verona class of 2003 who exploded in Bergamo, whose future will partly depend on the outcome of the A2 playoffs with the Scaligeri.
