Reyer Venezia, comes a heavy first 'no' for next season

Reyer Venezia is looking for a high-profile coach ahead of a key season, which will coincide with its move to the new 10,500-seat arena. The first name on the management’s list was Luca Banchi, but the Tuscan coach decided to drop out to focus exclusively on the Italian national team. This was revealed by ‘La Nuova Venezia’.

Committed full-time to building the new cycle of Italbasket, which started in September 2025, Banchi preferred not to take on the double assignment. His choice should not be read as a rejection toward Venice, but as a precise decision to devote himself completely to the Azzurro project and the development of young talent.

It should be recalled that contacts between the Venetian leadership and Banchi had been underway for some time and had intensified in recent weeks. The Orogranata club’s goal is to build a competitive team also from a European perspective, with the Euroleague dream in the background, and the Tuscan coach had been identified as the ideal profile to start a high-level multi-year project.

The suggestion linked to Ettore Messina has not gone away, however: the experienced coach from Catania left the Olimpia Milano bench in November and has a contract with the biancorossa club that will expire next June. The desire to return to coaching is great and could be the key to seeing him in the orogranata.

In the meantime, Neven Spahija, who will sit on the Venetian bench until the end of the current season, tried to keep the group’s concentration high despite the market rumors. “Every once in a while we win, too… We have tried to ignore external rumors and stay focused on our daily work,” said the Croatian coach, who has guided Reyer to a high level path, with the team firmly in the upper zones of the standings with 36 points, behind Brescia and Virtus Bologna paired at the top with 40.