It was still a dream more than a project, that of seeing Biella basketball restart at least from the interregional B series, the new B2 that will be born from next season with the reform of the championships. But a running change of the rules decided by Federbasket in recent weeks has suddenly shuffled the cards and, perhaps, put a big spanner in the works for a prospect who was trying to regain speed and enthusiasm.
The changed rule is that which concerns the composition of the new tournament, the fourth level and the last national team of the Italian wedge ball. The teams admitted, according to the decisions taken in the summer, had to be the worst classified in the current Serie B, the ones promoted by C Gold in the various regions and twenty chosen at the unquestionable judgment of the federation. It is to one of these places that Biella looked with hope: if among the criteria there were the historicity of the square, the public’s attachment (especially considering certain half-empty buildings even in the current A2) and the level of infrastructure, it would have been difficult to say no to the city who has made talents grow from Soragna to Jerebko and has totaled 24 seasons between A and A2 from 1998 to the past year. But the federal council at the beginning of March passed a clean slate on this rule and rewrote a new one: no “wild card” for the interregional B, but only the right to participate in the championship won on the field. As? Increasing promotions from C Gold. The Piedmontese group, for example, would have guaranteed three category moves at the end of the playoffs to be played from the end of April among the best eight of the regular season (among which there is the Teens, bringing up the bottom of the tournament). They’ll become five and it’s not necessarily a good thing for those who were perhaps aiming for a good season but not making the leap in category. In summary, at the end of the playoffs, it is not utopian to imagine renunciations or proposals for the exchange of sports titles by those who, for a B2, do not have the strength.
In the silence of the negotiations, Pallacanestro Biella has old problems to solve before thinking big, that is to secure the repayment plans for past debts, one of the two balls and chains that forced the renunciation of A2. Once the agreements with Enel and the Revenue Agency have been signed (optimism seeps into the blanket of reserve), we need to disengage from the other ball and chain, the lack of resources. For this we need fresh forces and investments and it is not certain that, in these months of silence, some movement has not been registered. But it is one thing to register for a championship by federal decree, therefore without disbursements, another is to do it by haggling for a sports title without knowing, at least until May, with whom to start any negotiations.
