Canturini side with Varese cousins
The non-attendance of Varese Basketball fans at the derby with Cantù did not make the white and blue supporters happy, who expressed their discontent with some explicit banners. For example, one could read “C***o need the nominal if Cousin don’t make come? Shame!!!” A gesture of solidarity that will also have been appreciated in Varese. The red and white supporters had been banned from traveling by an order of the Prefect of Monza-Brianza.
“Let’s welcome the team, let’s make them feel who we are. Let’s convey energy, pride, belonging. Let’s get everything to the boys that we won’t be able to take on the road. A look, a chorus, a united presence can be worth as much as a whole curve. Sunday is not just a goodbye. It’s a clear message: we are there, always!” had been the message with which Varese fans had been summoned despite the ban on physically entering to occupy the stands in Cantù.
The derby comes at a delicate moment in the standings for both teams, but with very different prospects. Varese is currently at 22 points in the standings, pegged to the playoff zone, while Cantù is sailing in much rougher waters with only 16 points, embroiled in the fight for permanence in Serie A along with Sassari, Treviso and the higher-ranked Udine and Napoli.
For the Brianzoli, the situation became even more complicated after the 89-79 home loss to Virtus Bologna, tied for the lead with Brescia. A knockout that interrupted the positive streak of Cantù, which was back from successes against Trieste and Sassari. On the sidelines of that game, coach Walter De Raffaele had stressed the difficulties of the moment: “It was difficult to ask more from the team, given the conditions in which we presented ourselves. I don’t have much to reproach my players for, except for too many free lost balls that cost us so much in the end.”
On the Varese front, however, the mood is quite different. Point guard Matteo Librizzi had expressed confidence in the team’s chances of making the playoffs: “In these months we have shown that we can compete and win against anyone. That is why I continue to believe that the goal is real: the daily work and the mentality we are building clearly show how much we want to get there.” Words that testify to the determination of a group that does not intend to let up on the post-season, and that make even more significant the warmth shown by the fans even in the most difficult circumstances, such as the derby with the travel ban.
