The urn gives the London Lions to TvB. Menetti: «Roster under construction, like us. Jones? Athletic, he rolls and defends strong ”
/ TREVISO
An Italian against the English Lions. The London Lions are the first historical European opponents of Treviso Basket, which will face them on 13 September in a venue yet to be defined. That will be the first round of the preliminary phase of the Champions League: in the other quarterfinal match against the Dutch of ZZ Leiden and the Belgians of Belfius Mons-Hainaut. In case of success, TvB will play in the semifinals against the Danish champions Bakken Bears on September 15th, while on the other hand those who make it between Belgians and Dutch will meet the Belarusians of Minsk. On the 17th the final that will decree the fourth formation that will join at 28 to give life to the regular season in group D: the Greeks of AEK Athens, the Lithuanians of Riga and the Hungarians Falco Szombathely are already qualified by right.
It will be understood that already being able to pass unscathed under all those caudine forks will represent a great success, especially taking into account that De ‘Longhi is an absolute freshman on a continental level. “Of course we do not know the English – admits coach Max Menetti – also because we are generally still in the construction phase of the rosters, especially for foreigners: we will have 40 days of targeted preparation to be ready, one September also with the Super Cup and I hope that the League will do everything to help us, in the year we return to the Olympics making a good European figure is in everyone’s interest. As for the grouping, I see that there are four national champion teams and one finalist, this already makes us understand what traveling in Europe will mean for us. Not to mention that the Champions League is growing in quality: the cut of four Eurocup teams has siphoned off some Spanish and Turkish teams. And for us it will be a first experience to be lived to the fullest ».
Not even the Danes seem an insurmountable obstacle. «Before winning a Eurochallenge in Reggio Emilia, and I had stars like Kaukenas and White, I lost against practically unknown teams. So, and I’m not saying this to get my hands on, every match will be tough for us: a club born 9 years ago will have to build a European mentality ». After Casarin, Jones and Bortolani, for which we are in the details, who are you missing? “Two foreigners: a long one (whispers about Kerry Blackshear, 2.08, 14.8 points and 8 rebounds at Hapoel Gilboa, ed), which will not necessarily be a 5. And a good physical outside. We are okay with the Italians: Piccin and Bartoli will send them where they can play, perhaps in A2, and we will stay with 5 + 5: 10 is more than enough for a reality like Treviso ».
Is Aaron Jones a 4 or a 5? «Hybrid player, athletic, he makes the roll his main gift, discreet shot from outside and in defense he is a wild card. Then a 5 does not necessarily arrive, it depends: it will be a TvB interchangeable as always. We will try to make the most of our aspirations and what the market offers ». An opinion on Casarin? «I really liked his desire to leave the house and come to Treviso: we are confident in his” hunger “. Very talented young man and already with European experience. In these next two years we want to build something with him ». –