By Luca Virgilio
In Italy it’s time for the final phase of the youth championship. From May 28th will take place in Udine the U19 National Finals, where the top 16 teams will compete for the win. There will be many good teams, but the favorite seems to be Biella, which has players like William Magarity ('93), Marco Lagana ('93) and Eric Lombardi ('93). Another candidate for the final victory is Virtus Bologna that has players like Matteo Imbro ('94), Aristide Landi ('94) and Simone Fontecchio ('95), at the pic. Do not underestimate either the Virtus Siena of Amedeo Tessitori ('94).
Group A: Benetton Treviso, Stella Azzurra, Pall. Trieste, Banca Sella Biella.
Group B: Virtus Bologna, Montecatini, Virtus Siena, Ruvo di Puglia.
Group C: Montepaschi Siena, Comark Bergamo, Rimini Crabs, Scavolini Pesaro.
Group D: Virtus Roma, Campus Varese, Casale Monferrato, Toyota Livorno.
These National Finals will be high level and during the tournament there may be some surprises like Benetton Treviso and Virtus Roma.
U17 National Finals will be played also from June 11th in Vasto. The favorite seems to be Virtus Bologna. The Coach Consolini's team has top players like Simone Fontecchio ('95) and Adam Pechaceck ('95) which can be devastating in this category. There are many other good teams like Virtus Siena, where plays Pierfrancesco Oliva ('96), one of the most interesting prospects of his generation, and other good players like Marco Reali ('95) and Andrea Martino ('95), or Reyer Venezia led by the talented Nicola Akele ('95) and the youngster Riccardo Bolpin ('97). Armani Jeans Milano and Bergamo are two squads that have played a great regular season and they are ready to try to win this difficult competition. Do not underestimate teams like Stella Azzura with the phenomenon Andrea La Torre ('97) and Casalpusterlengo of Giga Janelidze ('95) and Marco Salari ('96).
Group A: Bergamo, Loano, Virtus Siena and Libertas
Group B: Virtus Bologna, Montepaschi Siena, Stella Azzurra and Rieti
Group C: Reyer Venezia, Casale Monferrato, Casalpusterlengo and Marostica
Group D: AJ Milano, Fortitudo Bologna, Robur Varese and Cus Torino.
Twitter of the author: @LucaVirgilio
Photo: fip.it (Simone Fontecchio)