Two from Pesaro at the Euroleague Final Four – Sport

Two from Pesaro at the Euroleague Final Four. If it is not a record, we are close: we do not believe there are many Italian cities, especially if we are not talking about metropolis, to be able to boast such an honor in basketball. Daniel Hackett and Andrea Cinciarini, six months apart, who grew up together in the Vuelle nursery but above all on the Pesaro pitches, risk even finding themselves against in the final, if CSKA manages to eliminate Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Armani to bend the Barcelona.

Daniel arrives as reigning champion, with the reins of CSKA firmly in hand after the farewell of Mike James, who flew to the NBA: in the last match of the Russian championship, which has already qualified Moscow for the championship final (3-1 over Zenit St. Petersburg), the play from Pesaro led his teammates with 20 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Monstrous. His great hunger, not yet sated, and his leadership are crucial for the formation of Itoudis, the coach who perhaps understood him the most during his career, so much so that Hackett, who is heading towards 34 years of age, is experiencing a blazing period, when most of the players usually begin the downward flight. His palmares says he is a winner because he won the title wherever he went: in Siena, in Milan, in Athens, in Moscow. But the victory of the Euroleague was the real consecration for Daniel, who would give his soul to be able to do an encore.

The one of ‘Cincia’ is instead a first time, for this reason it is surrounded by a magical aura: and since the play is on the threshold of 35 years, it risks being also the last chance to ascend the throne of Europe, if you think that Milan it took him almost thirty years to go back. Andrea arrives with the captain’s armband on his arm, which he has worn since 2016, the year after joining Olimpia: this is a great honor, because it means having been recognized not only as a solid player but also as an extremely person. reliable from the most powerful club in Italy, with which he has won everything (2 league titles, 3 Italian Cups and 4 Super Cups). Cinciarini’s style is humble, but his character is granite.

From tomorrow the spotlight of international basketball will all be on Cologne, where at 6 pm Hackett’s CSKA opens the kermesse against Istanbul (live on Eurosport 2), then at 9 pm Cinciarini’s Armani will take the field against Barcelona (Eurosport Player or Discovery +). And on Sunday at 20.30 the grand finale: hoping that the two boys from Pesaro have made it. It would also be a great pride for our city and for the red and white fans who cherish a dream: to see them together at the end of their career in Vuelle. But for these two phenomena, if they continue like this, the end of their career is still a long way off.

Elisabetta Ferri