The coach’s balance: «Pavia with the heart beyond the obstacle, an exciting season. I was on my debut, I launched myself. The future? I am available to the company “
PAVIA. Fabio Di Bella ended his first season as head coach by leading the Riso Scotti Punto Edile to the playoffs for the first time in the history of Pavia with the Omnia brand, exiting in the fourth game of the series, after forcing Livorno, second in group A, to squeeze important mental and physical energies to win the semifinal. The coach from Pavia and former blue has created a cohesive group, which in order to take the field in the playoffs has literally thrown his heart over the obstacle. And when Di Bella saw Marco Torgano who was leaving PalaRavizza in tears after the elimination, he did not hesitate to take him by the hand and take him to the press room.
Fabio still doesn’t have the contract for next year. “I make myself available – explains the main architect of the more than positive year in Pavia – if they want me, I am there”. Then the thanks. «I want to address them to all the protagonists of this great season – underlines Di Bella – my team has built a true, concrete, credible and fearful identity. We created an important feeling, I tried to give everything I had and they did the same with me, so much so that in Game 4 of the playoffs we didn’t have any more ».
The relationship between Di Bella and the players was decisive: «We made this season unforgettable, working like mules and going to the gym, but always with a smile. It was a difficult championship between Covid and the absence of the public. We created a path of values, of common sacrifices, of sporting results and it was not easy. We did well in a difficult context, where it was not possible to organize dinners or parties and with faraway fans ».
Di Bella was making his debut as a head coach: «When I was offered the possibility of coaching Pavia around Christmas I was absorbed by the youth sector of Here You Can. After I quit playing I was offered assistant roles in A2 and a few American colleges, but I chose to devote myself to school. I followed basketball a little, including Pavia. I didn’t know the dynamics of the locker room and neither did the players. I didn’t know what it meant to coach Serie B, yet I had to give an answer within one night. It was a new challenge. I talked about it with my wife and my sister, and then I accepted, putting my name on the table, for what I am for Pavia as a man and as a former player. I chose more with the heart than with the reason. I got involved in the current championship and it wasn’t easy. The alternative was to close the door to such an experience and this was one more reason to throw myself. The team accepted it, because if I am the first to get involved, they had to do it too. Every day I have tried to stimulate the players by treating them with respect. They left empty of energy because they didn’t know how to get them out and they arrived empty because they didn’t have any more. The turning point? The defeat in the Vigevano derby. The strong reaction after the heavy defeat in the derby. We went back to the gym with a smile and from there we left, knowing that the work started would have paid off ».
The semifinals
In race 5 only the series between Faenza and Bernareggio goes, while in addition to Livorno, in race 4 with a reduced gap, Omegna also won and conquered Crema. The semifinals in draw 1 are between Chiusi and San Miniato and between Agrigento and Omegna; in 2 between Piacenza and Rimini, while the winner between Faenza and Bermareggio will face Livorno. – Maurizio Scorbati