Champions League, Lorenzo Baldini will also be there
Important recognition for two CIA members, Stefano Cazzaro and Lorenzo Baldini, who have been designated to be part of the refereeing team for the Final Four of the FIBA Basketball Champions League, scheduled in Badalona May 7-9. Cazzaro will hold the role of technical delegate, while Baldini will be among the referees of the competition: a very prestigious presence that represents a source of pride for the Italian Referees Committee and the Italian Basketball Federation.
This is not the first time that Baldini has found himself directing high-level games: the Italian whistle blower boasts a long career at the top of national and international refereeing, having already directed in the past such important matches as the Italian Serie A Scudetto semifinals. A career built over time that now brings him to tread the prestigious stage of the Basketball Champions League.
The final phase will be played at the Palau Municipal d’Esports, with the semifinals scheduled for Thursday, May 7: Rytas Vilnius will face La Laguna Tenerife, while Unicaja will take on AEK BC. The winners of the two challenges will advance to the final, while the defeated teams will compete for third place: both games will be played on Saturday, May 9.
La Laguna Tenerife’s qualification to the Final Four came convincingly in the quarterfinals, where the Canaries eliminated Gianmarco Pozzecco’s Galatasaray. After two very balanced games (84-83 and 64-62), the Spanish team dominated the decisive Game 3 with a net 99-59, dragged by former Cantù player Giorgi Shermadini’s 20 points and Joan Sastre’s defensive solidity. Also decisive were the contributions of Jaime Fernández, Fitipaldo, Huertas and Guerra in a choral performance of the highest level.
The Rytas Vilnius, Tenerife’s opponent in the semifinals, is one of the most historic teams in Lithuanian basketball and in all of Eastern Europe. The Vilnius club has a long tradition in continental competitions and comes to Badalona as one of the most fearsome teams in the tournament, strong with a quality roster built to compete at high levels in the Basketball Champions League.
