Venezia – Cremona

Italy – Basketball Serie A, day 3.

Saturday 14/10/23, 20:30 CET

Fresh air in Venice, at their first seasonal restart with a new coach – Neven Spahija, appointed last February – since 2016. The technical revolution decided in summer – just 5 players reconfirmed in the roster – is promising and calls for a level-up after the structural downgrade that occurred after winning the Coppa Italia in 2020. Now Reyer Venezia have impacted Serie A with the right attitude (two wins against Tortona and Pesaro, both by more than 10 points), while they are struggling in Eurocup (two losses versus London and Paris): their last one was influenced by an injury-emergency, with just 8 players able to take the court. “We gave all we got” coach Spahija said, “but it was hard to compete in such a situation”. Venezia have good chance to recover already this weekend. And at full strength, from Rayjon Tucker to Aamir Simms, they are a hard opponent to face for anyone.

It was a Sunday of glory in Cremona, where in the last leg the home team could celebrate the return to Serie A in front of their public with a remarkable win (86-74 versus Sassari). The seasonal goal is a safe salvation, and the White-and-blue are already on the right tracks: the confirmation in the bench of coach Cavina laid the foundation for a challenging upgrade. And today Cremona can count on a high rhythm game-style, where the talent of the Americans – Lacey and Adrian on top – is balanced by the tactical contribution of the Italian players – among which, Pecchia and Denegri stand out. Altogether, this little basketball city is enabled to dream again.

Cremona have been waiting for a win in Venice since the 2019 playoffs semifinals, where Reyer prevailed 3-2 after a dramatic series and eventually celebrated the scudetto. But time flies, and both squads experienced some downsize in the following years: now the gap is still in favor of the home team, despite the mutual new growth. Net of injuries, Venezia can count on a deeper roster and on some players among the Serie A’s very best.