CREMONA – The Vanoli Basket market moves with an outgoing movement and one inlet. The Biancoblù Company after communicating that Stefan Nikolic has exercised the exit clause from the contract for teams participating in European competitions and will therefore not be part of the roster for the 2025/2026 season, he announced the arrival of Sasha Mattias Grantwing born in 2002, who in the 2025/2026 Serie A LBA season will play under the orders of Coach Gigi Brotto.
«I am very excited to join Vanoli! The choice to come and play here was immediate after talking to coach Brotto and Andrea Conti, whom I thank for the trust and opportunities they are giving me »
Born in Cagliari and raised in Dolianova, Sardinia, Grant has moved his first basketball steps in the Jolly Basket Dolianova and subsequently to the Aperia Cagliari. In 2016 he was noticed by the Youth of Pallacanestro Reggiana, where he plays for a season before being recruited by the Bayern Munich youth sector at just 15 years old, an important step for his young career. In Germany Sasha scales the hierarchies to the debut, in 2019, in the top German championship and in Eurolega at 17 years of age.
After several seasons in the Bundesliga, Grant returns to Italy during the 2021/22 season, on loan first to Tezenis Verona, contributing to the promotion of the Venetians from Serie A2 to Serie A, and then to the Madi Beyruth, with which he collects on average 4 points and about 1.7 rebounds in 13.7 minutes of use. The 2023/24 season then saw him the protagonist in the Reggiana basketball with an average of about 15 minutes per game and over 4 points in Serie A, these are the figures that consecrated it as one of the emerging young people of the championship.
International level, Grant dressed the blue national youth team shirt: at the U16 European Championships in 2017, he marked an average of 9 points and 5.7 rebounds, while in 2018 he imposed himself as the best marker of the tournament with 19.3 points and 4.7 rebounds. He has also recently received his first call in the major national team for qualifying matches at Euro 2025, a recognition that testifies to his rapid growth.
«I am ready to give my best to contribute to the success of the team and achieve common objectives. I am already at work to prepare for the next season and I can’t wait to meet my new teammates, the fans and the whole Vanoli family »
Andrea ContiGeneral Manager Vanoli Basket Cremona: «Sasha has expressed great enthusiasm and will to marry our technical project from the first interviews and we are very happy to have it with us. He is a boy with great physical and athletic exuberance, this will help us a lot to achieve the set goals. “
