Tezenis Verona: The Fine Doesn’t Dampen the Euphoria

The second day of the top-tier basketball league came to a close with the Verona-Milan game—a surprise win for the home team—and the Cantù-Udine game, which saw the visiting team pull out a last-second victory, with Calzavara making the difference with 2 seconds left in the first overtime. One club was fined—Verona—which was assessed a fine of 1,200.00 euros for frequent collective insults directed at the referees by the crowd. A minor blemish on an evening that the newly promoted team, led by veteran coach Alessandro Ramagli, will remember for a long time.

Verona’s victory feels even more special considering that the Gialloblù achieved it without Izaiah Brockington, who is sidelined by a left soleus injury that will keep him out of action for a few more days. It was a significant loss—that of the former Liaoning Flying Leopards player, who had already proven his worth in the preseason and whom Ramagli had identified as a key player in the rotation. Yet, even without him, Tezenis managed to pull off the feat of defeating Olimpia Milano.

On the other side of the court, a Peppe Poeta who was bitter to say the least made no excuses at the end of the game. The Olimpia coach publicly took full responsibility for the loss, pointing to his team’s poor approach from the very first possessions: “I take full responsibility for the loss. We didn’t come out with the right attitude, like we did against Baskonia. We need to fix a lot of things, and we need to do it quickly. The fact that we’re a new team and don’t know each other is over.” The coach did, however, praise the second-half defense, though he admitted to too many naive mistakes down the stretch that allowed Verona to come back from a 4-point deficit.

In Desio, meanwhile, the evening ended with more than a few regrets for Cantù. Hassani Gravett was among the worst performers on the court and was also involved in a heated exchange with coach Frank Vitucci, who chose not to send him back onto the court. His performance was so lackluster that it has reignited speculation about his potential release—a possibility that already seemed likely to materialize even before the start of the season. The blue-and-white fans, already exasperated by the loss, did not hold back in their criticism of the player on social media after the game.

It must be said that the outcome of the Cantù-Udine game was anything but a foregone conclusion. The game turned out to be a real battle, with the Friuli-based Bianconeri getting off to a better start before the Brianza team mounted a comeback. The match remained close throughout the entire forty minutes of regulation, with Moraschini nearly sealing the victory in the final moments with a three-pointer that bounced in and out before sinking the tying shot on his next attempt. In overtime, after a series of nail-biting possessions, it was Calzavara who broke the deadlock with a drive to the basket with 2 seconds left on the clock, leaving Christon with the final shot, which missed.

Also noteworthy was the atmosphere at the PalaDesio: the Udine fans who had traveled to Brianza didn’t miss the opportunity to chant in support of Varese, Cantù’s historic rival, fueling one of the most passionate rivalries in all of Italian basketball.