On the way back: UNICS GM Claudio Coldebella might return to Italy / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Arturo Presotto - Iguana Press/Getty Images Credit Arturo Presotto - Iguana Press/Getty Images

The VTB League is entering the most crucial moments of the season. UNICS Kazan is currently facing Zenit in the semifinals of the competition but for Italian executive Claudio Coldebella, the sports director of UNICS, these might be the last few games of his Russian experience that started four years ago.

Points this season

46%76,7Points made:76,7Accuracy:46,2%Place in standings:8Record max:109Record min:41Best scorer:Mario HezonjaTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

According to a report from 'Il Corriere del Veneto', in fact, Italian side Nutribullet Treviso is seriously considering the possibility of adding Coldebella to their front office for the next season.

This could represent a return for Coldebella, who was the GM and the vice president of Benetton Treviso from 2010 to 2012, and then remained as an executive for a further season with the new club, after the decision of the Benetton family to remove their support to the club.

During his experience in Russia, Coldebella accomplished great results, leading UNICS to the EuroLeague after reaching the final of the Eurocup last season. UNICS was in the mix for a playoff spot before the invasion of Ukraine began and EuroLeague decided to suspend all the Russian teams from the competition.

With the growing uncertainty surrounding the status of the Russian clubs in the European competitions heading into the next season, a return to Italy could be a good opportunity for Coldebella, who's already familiar with the environment of Treviso.

Nutribullet Treviso played in the Basketball Champions League this season and one of his players, Giordano Bortolani, on loan from Armani Exchange Milan, was named 'Best Young Player' of the competition.

Unfortunately, Treviso failed to qualify for the playoffs of the Italian Serie A but the new head coach Marcelo Nicola, a former player of the club, was able to avoid the relegation from the top division, a possibility that until a few weeks ago didn't look so distant for the team.

Claudio Coldebella, for the moment, doesn't want to think about the future and the rumors. He's committed to finishing the season with UNICS and will evaluate his possibilities only at the end of the season in the VTB League.

Andrea Gracis, the current sports director of Nutribullet Treviso, is not expected to leave his role, two different sources told BasketNews, so it remains to be seen which kind of role Treviso is planning to offer to Coldebella.

But the ambition for the Italian side is to keep growing and having an experienced executive like Coldebella could only help improve the project moving forward for Treviso.

Sources close to the club told BasketNews that there's optimism that an agreement with Coldebella could be found in the end but again every evaluation will need to wait for the end of the VTB League season.

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