Orlandina basketball prepares for Sunday’s trip to Montecatini, a team coached by the former Meo Sacchetti, with coach Bolignano who will still have to do without long-time starter Franco Gaetano, author of an excellent start to the season but now haunted by bad luck. In fact, the calf muscle problem that has kept him out for a good two months, or 9 games, has unfortunately been compounded by a compound fracture in his right thumb which risks extending his return by as many games, which was announced until yesterday for the recovery match and was then postponed. Indeed, probably, the strong Giacomo Furin will return first, having returned to Capo d’Orlando more than 5 months after reconstruction surgery for the partial injury to the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee, to start training in view of his debut which, however, is not expected before February.
While waiting and hoping that the problems are over, the club is trying to understand when to set the home recovery against Fiorenzuola but certainly not for Wednesday 7 January, the date preferred by the Emilians as it follows the away match in Piazza Armerina. Regardless of two press releases of mutual accusations on the ways in which the further postponement was reached, it must be said that the federation and the LNP specifically have once again made a bad impression on us, confirming how badly Italian basketball has been managed for decades now. The last pearl damaged poor Agrigento who lost on the field the away match against Omegna which was forced to play with only 8 and not 9 Italian players as required by the regulations.
“This situation – writes the Agrigento club – was caused by an influenza virus that hit the group hard: 3 athletes were bedridden and unable to take part in the race, while 2 of the 9 on the bench were feverish.
48 hours before the match, the club had requested the postponement of the match without any response from the FIP.
Despite the difficulties, the club’s efforts and the players’ great sense of responsibility allowed the team to travel approximately 1,800 km in less than 24 hours to play the match.
Nonetheless, today, the defeat of the match was also notified.
The club expresses deep bitterness for what happened because, while not overturning the result of the field, it is aware of how little consideration there is for the efforts of the clubs, especially the island ones subjected to demanding trips every week, even in conditions of health emergency like for the trip in question.
It should be noted that in the 24/25 season the same situation occurred on 02/02/25 for the match against Vicenza, but on that occasion no type of measure was taken against the latter and it should be pointed out that, in the same year, Fortitudo Agrigento did not have direct access to the playoffs due to just 2 points in the standings.
On 10/26/25 for INFODRIVE CAPO D’ORLANDO vs ASSIGECO CASALPUSTERLENGO the sports justice system, however, took a measure similar to ours by fining the visiting team.
In conclusion, the lack of a line of coherence on the part of sports justice emerges.
So why did the FIP take three different measures in three identical cases”?
Maybe because when Sicilian clubs are involved which are difficult to reach logistically and economically (moreover only 3 away games for the others, while the islanders make 16), Rome uses double standards? The past tells of precedents in this sense and the paradoxical situation of Trapani itself, the object of real persecution regardless of the faults of the volcanic Antonini, goes in this direction. It’s a sin to think badly even during the holidays but you often get it right.
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