Italian Cup sensation from Tortona: recently promoted team with a European dream / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com/Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com/Scanpix

Last week represented a historical moment for the Italian side Derthona Basket, a team based in Tortona, Piedmont. Coach Marco Ramondino's team was promoted to the top division of the Italian basket only last summer, after beating Turin in the playoffs of the second division.

They played a very good first half of the season, qualifying for the Final Eight of the Italian Cup with the sixth-best record.

During the cup, they first beat Allianz Trieste, advancing to the competition's semifinals. In the semifinals, Tortona made the real masterpiece, beating reigning Italian champions Virtus Bologna 94-82 with a fantastic offensive performance.

And it wasn't even the first time. Ramondino's side had already beaten Virtus Bologna in Serie A, so they knew how to put coach Sergio Scariolo and his players in danger.

Tortona played the final against Armani Exchange Milan, and despite the loss, they played a very good game, and they surrendered only in the final quarter when Milan's superiority became evident.

But despite the loss, there was no disappointment for Tortona, only pride for the great week they've spent in Pesaro and the historical achievement they reached.

"On Sunday, we played the most important game of our history," said Marco Picchi, the club president. "It was one of those very rare occasions in which a defeat is received only with joy and happiness, without any bitterness".

But while these types of accomplishments might be described as 'flukes' or dismissed as some kind of improvised bursts in other situations, when we talk about Derthona Basket, we have to go a little deeper.

During the offseason, it was already clear that Derthona wasn't building the usual squad that a team that just got promoted to the top division usually builds. American players like JP Macura, coming from Afyon Belediye, and Mike Daum, coming from Obradoiro, are not the typical targets for a small team.

If you start your professional career in Spain or Turkey, you usually do not move to a small club in Italy, unless that club is not that small after all.

A player like Ariel Filloy, a former Italian league champion with Reyer Venezia and a stable member of the Italian national team in recent years, usually doesn't sign for a newly promoted team.

That's because, between ownership and front office, Derthona Basket have a really solid structure going on, and they're not your typical newly promoted team.

Back in 2017, the Gavio group entered the club as a sponsor. The Gavio family has always been a very important one in Italy, involved in the construction business, and they've built their business just around the Tortona area.

Beniamino Gavio, the current head of the group, decided to sponsor the team with the yacht brand owned by his group: Bertram. The financial support received by the Gavio family helped Derthona Basket to have more stability in the second division.

In 2018, the project for a new sports citadel was officially unveiled, including a new arena for the team with a 5000 people capacity. During this offseason, it was announced that Beniamino Gavio and his group bought 51% of the club's shares, and they're now the controlling owners of the club.

One week after celebrating the promotion to the top division, the new owner was already in the federation's offices to pay the registration fee for the new season.

"I'm just like that, I have to believe in what I do," Tortona's new owner Beniamino Gavio said in a recent interview with 'Il Foglio'. "I'm very passionate about basketball, I watch all the home games, two-three times a week I watch the training sessions, and sometimes I travel with the team for the road games."

Gavio wants to give back to the community with the new arena. As a businessman who grew up in the Tortona area, he feels the responsibility to help the team and the area improve.

"As businessmen, we received a lot from the territory, and I think it's right to give back something to the city. A new arena with a 5000 people capacity and a new training gym for the first team with 400 seats, outdoor fields, and many other things. A project worth around 20-22 million euros. The goal is to have the new arena by 2023," Gavio said.

A new place for the team, an arena that the city can be proud of and can also be used for musical concerts and other events. Derthona Basket, as of right now, play their home games in Casale Monferrato, a city that is distant around 40 kilometers from Tortona.

But it's not only about the ownership. Derthona Basket have a really great coach on the bench - 39-year-old Ramondino, who has been with the team since 2018. Born in Avellino, Campania, he is one of the best young coaches in Italy.

He has received an endorsement from coach Ettore Messina after the Italian Cup: "He's doing an amazing job with the team," the former San Antonio Spurs assistant said.

Ramondino is also famous for his very peculiar style on the bench and his timeouts, in which sometimes he mixes his southern dialect with English.

For example, during the Italian Cup's final against Milan, he said to JP Macura' Sì capac è fa sul? O t serv a badante?', basically translating to 'Are you able to do it by yourself? Or do you need assistance?' in Campanian dialect.

After winning the semifinal against Virtus Bologna, Ramondino was about to give an interview for the Italian television. Macura came in and started to celebrate with him, screaming and yanking Ramondino's jacket, the coach then started the interview by saying, "come on, man, I have to wear this tomorrow as well."

American guard JP Macura loves coach Ramondino, and he has a great relationship with him.

"He's a phenomenal coach, and everybody loves him. He's a player's coach, he lets everybody have their freedom, but he also holds everyone accountable. Off the court, he's also a great person to be around to", the player told BasketNews.

Macura loves to play with Ramondino's sons and has a bit of 'crazy' inside, making him the perfect player for the coach.

Even in the front office, Derthona have some really good people to count on. This summer, they hired Gianmaria Vacirca as a scout and consultant.

Vacirca is a very well-respected figure in Italy. As an executive, he achieved great results in Capo D'Orlando, Montegranaro, and Cremona, leading those teams to unexpected results. He has often worked for teams without a huge budget and has always been able to find great talent.

And for him, basketball is not the only thing in his life, he also works as a marketing manager for an Italian shoe company and owns a personal blog in which he mixes his passion for food and basketball.

With 11 games remaining in the schedule, Derthona Basket are in the mix for a playoff spot. Sure, other teams may rise in the meanwhile, but there's definitely room to dream for Derthona.

"One step at the time, we built this team to maintain our place in the top division. Next season, if we'll still be here, we'll try to raise our goals," Gavio said. "Our dream is to play in a European cup when the new arena will be ready."

"After three years in Serie A, playing in a European cup would be great. But that's the dream, for the moment, let's focus on keeping our spot in Serie A," he added.

Except for a really big city like Milan, most of the other teams in the Serie A are based in smaller towns. In the past, teams like Varese and Cantù, both based in cities with less than 100.000 people population, were able to establish themselves as stable forces in the Serie A and to play in Europe.

Maybe Derthona Basket could be the next big thing because it sure looks like they have no intention to disappear soon.

"We have to think big, that's the first thing that I said when I joined the club," the owner Beniamino Gavio said.

After reaching the final of the Italian cup in the first year of Serie A, it's clear that Derthona don't want to stop here. They'll keep running and building. In the words of coach Ramondino, 'we came here to play.'

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