Brindisi, reinforcement "Made in USA" in point guard role

Valtur Brindisi has signed for next season Blake Francis, an American point guard born in Herndon, Virginia, on June 23, 1998. The’former Vigevano thus goes to complete the roster available to Piero Bucchi in the 2025-2026 season, which Brindisi will still play in Serie A2 after reaching the playoffs (via play-in) and stopping in the quarters against Rimini.

“Blake Francis completes the roster for the 2025/26 season – confirmed Tullio Marino, general manager of the biancoazzurro club -. We have
closely followed his evolution and impact in the Italian league and he has been one of our main targets from the beginning. We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with the player who chose with great enthusiasm to come to Brindisi and marry the technical project presented by coach Piero Bucchi and his staff”.

Undrafted in 2021 after NCAA experiences at Wagner and Richmond, Blake Francis has tried knocking on NBA doors playing in the G-League, the Westchester Knicks, the Capital City Go-Go and the Cleveland Charge. He also played in Canada for the Newfoundland Growlers and the Montreal Alliance before deciding to move to Europe.

Francis arrived in the Old Continent in the summer of 2023, signing for Medipolis SC Jena, a club in the German ProA (second league). He then moved to Finland in November 2024, to Kouvot, before arriving in Italy on April 11, 2025, in Vigevano. With the gialloblù jersey he faced the’last part of the season, which saw the Pavese team relegated after the playout.