The controversy surrounding the Brescia-Rome connection shows no signs of abating: Gianni Petrucci’s remarks have left everyone speechless

The interview given by FIP President Gianni Petrucci to *La Gazzetta dello Sport* adds a new chapter to the debate on the state of Italian basketball, which intensified further on Friday with the official announcement of the transfer of Germani Brescia’s sports franchise to Paul Matiasic’s newly formed Maxima Roma. The remarks by the FIP’s top official have further fueled the debate over the relocation to the capital not only of this project but also of Vanoli Cremona, which has become Roma Basketball Club SPQR.

As already emphasized in the statement issued following Friday’s extraordinary Federal Council meeting, Petrucci also reiterated to *La Gazzetta dello Sport* that, from a regulatory standpoint, there are no irregularities: “Current laws allow it; there is freedom of investment. “Those who put up the money have every right to seek investors,” he said, in no uncertain terms.

The FIP president then broadened his perspective to the international context, emphasizing the influence of the NBA brand: “It so happens that the world’s most important brand, the NBA, has decided that Rome and Milan are two cities where entrepreneurs want to invest. If it’s investing 3 billion to kick off the project, that must mean something.”

But it was another remark that sparked the most heated debate. Speaking about the two new Roman teams, Petrucci stated: “Everything suggests that whichever one ends up without NBA Europe will eventually give up.” Many fans, commenting on the story on social media, interpreted this statement as a prediction of a possible collapse of one of the two projects, with serious consequences for the entire Italian basketball scene.