The official presentation of the “Rimini Basket Week” was held in the council room of the municipality of Rimini, a week dedicated to basketball and in which four tournaments will be played: from 3 to 6 January the Garattoni memorial, dedicated to the Under 13s, and the Fabbri Memorial, for the Under 14 teams will be held. Shortly afterwards, from 5 to 8 January, the Flaminio in Rimini and the Pala Sgr in Santarcangelo will be the backdrop for the second stage of the Ibsa Next Gen Cup 2025-2026, dedicated to the Under 19 teams of the Serie A teams, while on January 5th only, at the Carim gym at 10.30 am, the 1st Riviera di Rimini Trophy will be held between the wheelchair basketball teams Nts Informatica Riviera Basket Rimini and Porta Potenza Picena Santo Stefano.
The communication and marketing manager of Dole Basket Rimini, Simone Campanati, introduced the presentation: “These important events arrive at a time of year when the city dresses up for the holidays. At the moment Rimini is in the middle of the longest New Year’s Eve in the world and we are part of this initiative with a youth-level project because the Rimini Basket Week becomes a concept of event and entertainment for kids. In short, Rimini and Santarcangelo become the capital of youth basketball and I thank all those who are working behind all of this.”
Roberta Frisoni, councilor for Tourism, commerce and sport of the Emilia-Romagna region, then took the floor: “As the Emilia-Romagna Region we are truly proud to be able to support the Ibsa Next Gen Cup again this year. This is an event that is truly important at a national level, also because young people are at the center of this competition which will see the best talents of Italian basketball compete. It is an initiative which sees the collaboration of the Region with the municipalities of Rimini and Santarcangelo, the Fip and Lba and the local basketball realities. At a regional level we are pursuing a very precise vision together with the territories in which tourism and sport are increasingly integrated to diversify and enrich the tourist offer. I also remember how Rinascita Basket Rimini has already been ensuring that our territory exploits these disciplines as a vehicle for promotion and tourist attraction. We welcome organizers and athletes certain of the warmth and welcome that our local realities will continue to reserve for them”.
Word then to Michele Lari, Councilor for Sport and Culture of the Municipality of Rimini: “The Rimini Basket Week, container of a series of basketball-themed initiatives with the Ibsa NextGen Cup at its peak, is becoming a good habit above all because it allows us to start the year in the name of sport, especially youth, with the kids who from 3 to 8 January will liven up the fields of our city, of our province and of the PalaFlaminio of Rimini, with over 40 teams and over 1000 participants including athletes, technicians and families in tow. It is important that within the framework of our “longest New Year’s Eve in the world” there are initiatives of this type that put young people at the center of the project. We are therefore extremely happy that the Lba has chosen us again for the second stage of the Ibsa NextGen Cup and we will be ready to welcome teams and enthusiasts from all over Italy again.
The mayor of Santarcangelo, Filippo Sacchetti, also spoke at the presentation: “The presence of a sport as relevant for this area as basketball expressed at such high levels motivates us to be increasingly present and more effective also to build a high sporting culture. In basketball we find sociality, the ability to be together and grow even for the new generations, as well as a lot of sport developed in a healthy way. Talking about young people and basketball makes us very proud and very happy and I believe that all the actors involved have done a truly excellent job in organizing these events and in particular the Ibsa NextGen Cup 2025/26, which we are truly happy to still have in our city”.
For the FIP, the president of the Regional Committee, Antonio Galli, was present: “We have always believed a lot in youth issues, to which we have just approved a suitable contribution especially for those who turn to schools throughout the region. Rimini is always a harbinger of many beautiful initiatives, thanks also to the contribution of Rbr which helped us set up the Fabbri Tournament (which involves many regional teams in an Under 14 Tournament, with the final scheduled for 6 January), the Garrattoni Tournament (Under 13 men and already in its twenty-first edition). I am really proud and happy to be here, we will always try to give it our all, we will continuously give help to the local clubs to make sure that everything is as successful as possible. Finally, we are very happy to host the Ibsa NextGen Cup again and we thank the Lba for still recognizing and believing in our territory, in the quality of its basketball and its structures”.
The Events manager, Marco Aloi, speaks for the Lba: “Bringing greetings from President Gherardini, I also thank all the regional and local institutions who have supported us from the first moment. For us, being here in Rimini, in Emilia-Romagna, is like feeling at home and our presence in this area is fundamental for us. Last year’s choice to come here, shared with the Lba sports area, was to go and test fields and clubs that were different from those of the Serie A. It was an exciting experience, we filled the stands of Santarcangelo and Rimini in a significant way with players who are now part of teams from the Euroleague, Serie A and other important European championships and American colleges. The choice to return here this year was spontaneous, particularly desired by the clubs who had a great time in this area and this must be a great source of pride for all the local institutions. For us, the NextGen Cup is a laboratory and for the staff who are experimenting with new rules (agreed together with the Fip) to understand if they can then be taken to a higher level. From 5 to 8 January we will bring over 300 kids, staff and accompanying people here, we will occupy many high-level hotel facilities in Rimini, also guaranteeing a significant economic impact for all parties involved. The matches of the Rimini and Santarcangelo di Romagna stage will also be free to enter in the arenas and visible for free upon registration on our Ott platform. Lbatv, which is giving us great satisfaction. Here too, we also have training sessions planned for our kids and our staff, thanks to the collaboration with Riviera Banca who gave us the opportunity to use their auditorium in their headquarters, on the evening of 6 and 7 January, analyzing the post-career path of all the players and also on other very sensitive and important topics such as nutrition and healthy eating”.
Subsequently, the head of Rimini Basket Week and Ibr Massimiliano Intorcia explains in detail all the initiatives of the week: “I also thank all the parties involved because they make possible everything that we think can be achieved on the field, putting our ideas and our commitment into practice and realizing them for the kids. The fundamental element of the Rimini Basket Week are precisely the young people who, in a week totally dedicated to them, will be on stage in the Fabbri Memorial, Garattoni Trophy and obviously in the Ibsa NextGen Cup, which I believe is the dream for the kids who will participate in these two tournaments, that is, competing against the best Under 19s from all over the country. A novelty of this edition is also represented by the desire to introduce wheelchair basketball to all the kids who participate in the Rimini Basket Week. I think this is quite important in terms of raising awareness but also of closeness to the whole world who has a passion for basketball, thanks also to the contribution of Riviera Basket Rimini Nts Informatica!”
It is Mirco Acquarelli, head of Nts Informatica Riviera Basket Rimini, who finally explains this latest initiative: “We are in a fantastic weekend where we talk about basketball at 360°. On January 5th at 10.30am, at the Carim gym, we will compete with a Serie A team for which we invite everyone to come: we are on the crest of the wave with five wins out of five in the championship, we aim to win them all and on January 5th we will also carry the torch Olympic Games, an honor for me and for the team.”
We remind you that all 32 matches of the second phase of the Next Gen Cup, of which 16 will be played at the Pala Sgr in Santarcangelo and 16 at the Flaminio in Rimini, can be viewed for free online on the new Lba TV platform following registration. Access to the arena will also be free.
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