By Luca Virgilio
After a very tough week, Virtus Bologna have triumphed in the Italian Under-17 Championship winning the final against Montepaschi Siena with the final result of 82-69, third place came the Blu Orobica Bergamo, while fourth came the Stella Azzurra Roma. The big disappointment of this event were undoubtedly AJ Milano and Reyer Venezia, which are outputs from the event earlier than expected. Was a very intensive week, and in the end won the strongest team, I quote below the best prospects of the event:
Filippo Antonini (6'0'', '95, G, Montepaschi Siena): Has been the secret weapon of Siena, he closed the event with 17 points per game and 2 assists per game but he has proven to be a very decisive player. With one of his free throws Siena beat Rieti, thanks to his three-point baskets Montepaschi beat Virtus Siena, thanks to his triple in the last minute of the game Montepaschi defeated Reyer Venezia and then in the semifinals versus Stella Azzurra one of his amazing basket from behind the board has allowed his team to reach the final. He is a player who goes "on fire" very easily, if he gets familiar with the basket gets really hard to stop, the only risk he runs is to exaggerate but I must say that in the important moments of the game he has always made the best choice. Offensively speaking he's a complete player: he can shoot from three points with good results but is also very dangerous when he attacks the ring with the penetration; he could suffer physically against bigger opponents but he is a very intelligent player and that helps him not to suffer too much the physical gap.
Diego Flaccadori (6'3'', '96, PG, Blu Orobica Bergamo): Is a very interesting player, he's a playmaker who can score points but it is also very good at reading the game situations. He played a superb tournament with 17 points per game and the 62% from twos, so to be nominated in the ideal quintet, but the thing that amazed me most is his maturity despite being a year younger than his opponents. In attack he can go right side or left side without problems and he is able to make beautiful assists for his teammates and it's clear that he has very solid fundamentals. Physically it can still grow a few inches and I'm sure that this summer with the National Under 16 he can do very well.
Simone Fontecchio (6'5'', '95, G, Virtus Bologna): He was without doubt the most talented player in this event, he finished the tournament with very high numbers (22, 5 points per game, 3 assists and 25,5 of evaluation per game) but, besides this, he has been dominant in every single game. In attack he was practically unstoppable because he was physically much stronger than his opponents and if his opponents decided to give him the shot from long distance he always did it, if his rivals decided to send him to the left he goes to the left always scoring a basket; a real dilemma for all defenses. Physically he is a player ready, maybe he could grow a few more inches, but he is ready to make the qualitative leap. He is definitely one of the most interesting Italian players and I'm curious to see how it will behave in the European Under-18 this summer.
Valerio Cucci (6'6'', '95, PF, Stella Azzurra): He is one of the surprises of the Finals, able to record statistics very high (18 points and 11 rebounds for a 20 of evaluation per game) but above all to be a constant presence on the court. He has a very strong physical structure that allows him to take many rebounds and not to suffer against players taller than him but the most interesting thing is his foot speed that allows him to defend on smaller players. Offensively he has not a good shot from medium range, but he's always able to find a good shot under the basket thanks to his great use of the pivot foot. He has the record for points scored in one game with 37 points (with 11/19 twos) against Fortitudo Bologna in the quarter-finals.
Adam Pechacek (6'9'', '95, C, Virtus Bologna): He is a player nice to see aesthetically speaking, but he's also terribly effective as demonstrated by the statistics: 18,1 points with 15 rebounds for a 26 of evaluation per game. He is a left-handed center who can do everything: he knows how to attack one versus one, he has a good shot from medium range, he is a good defensive/offensive rebounder. His only flaw is that he’s a discontinuous player but I'm sure that will improve this aspect. Overall, we're talking about a very strong player, who made the difference even in the U19 League, and I think he can become a very good player if he continues to work hard.
Andrea La Torre (6'7'', '97, G, Stella Azzurra): Is really one of the most interesting talents in Italy, he was born in 1997 and during the games I did not notice the age difference with his opponents. La Torre is almost two meters tall and I think he can still grow but the thing that impressed me was his elegance on the floor: he is able to attack one versus one, thanks to its excellent ball handling, he can shoot from three in transition, and despite his young age he already reads the game very good. During the tournament he grew up game after game leading the Stella Azzurra to the semifinals with 13,5 points for a 16 of evaluation per game and I firmly believe that he's the most interesting Italian prospect in this moment.
Nicola Akele (6'6'', '95, PF, Reyer Venezia): Is a player that I was sorry not to see in the semifinal because he was dominant in all aspects of the game for the first three days of the event but in the quarter-final against Montepaschi Siena he played under his potential scoring only 5 points and above all he was not able of being the team leader at the time of maximum difficulty. Physically he is really a show, very long arms and legs that allow him to do everything: jumping high, run for the court very quickly, stealing balls, stopping opponents but if he wants to become a determining factor to the next level I think he should put on a little of weight because he could suffer against opponents heavier than him. He with his explosion becomes difficult to stop, but he can still improve a lot especially if he learns to shoot well from 3 or 4 meters, and personally I am curious to see how he governs high-pressure situations. Akele ended the Finals with 13,5 points, 8,5 rebounds for a 21 of evalution per game.
Giga Janelidze (6'7'', '95, PF, Casalpusterlengo): Is a player physically very strong and very fun to watch because he can dunk with two hands, block, shoot for 3, he can do everything. In my opinion, however, he has not great margins of improvement because he will not grow greatly in height and technically I do not think he can become stronger. He played a good tournament with 15,8 points and 18 rebounds per game but his team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Bergamo.
Pierfrancesco Oliva (6'7'', '96, SG, Virtus Siena): In the first three days of the tournament he was the player that impressed me the most: a player of great talent, physical, aggressive and above all able to make points. After the first round he had 20 points, 17 rebounds for a 28 of evaluation per game. In the first three days of the tournament he was the player that impressed me the most: a player of great talent, physical, aggressive and above all able to make points. After the first round he had 20 points, 17 rebounds for a 28 of evaluation per game but in the game against Siena Montepaschi he suffered a painful injury to the fibula that forced him to leave the court
Alessandro Spatti (6'7'', '95, C, Blu Orobica Bergamo): He is a player who went a bit below expectations, I had never seen him and frankly I expected more. Spatti is however an interesting player (10 points and 9 rebounds per game in this Finals) with a good physique and a very reliable shot from 4 or 5 meters, but I think he's limit is just to rely too heavily on these shots from distance but instead I think he should use his body more to attack the basket and above all to be more aggressive.
Twitter of the author: @lucavirgilio
Photo: fip.it
