Find out everything about the Italian Basketball Cup 2023 tournament in Turin, including the schedule, teams, and format.
All around Europe, it's time for a little break in the domestic leagues, which will be filled by the local cups. Teams will fight for the first domestic title of the season in just a few days.
The tension and the excitement that the domestic cups generate are something that can't usually be found during the regular season of the local leagues.
If you're missing some info or details about these competitions, there's no need to worry because we've got you covered.
In this article, we will focus on the Italian Cup, where the Final Eight of the cup will be played in Turin from February 15 to February 19.
Format
The eight teams that will participate are the eight best teams at the end of the first half of the Italian league.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan qualified with the best record, while Virtus Segafredo Bologna will have the no.2 seed. EuroCup team Germani Brescia, on the other hand, will have the last seed, no.8.
Teams
- EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (1)
- Virtus Segafredo Bologna (2)
- Derthona Basket (3)
- VL Pesaro (4)
- Pallacanestro Varese (5)
- Aquila Trento Basket (6)
- Reyer Venezia (7)
- Germani Brescia (8)
Schedule
On Wednesday 15, there'll be the competition's opening game with the reigning champions Emporio Armani Milan (1) facing EuroCup side Germani Brescia (8) at 18:00 CET.
After that, VL Pesaro (4), coached by Jasmin Repesa, will face Pallacanestro Varese (5).
The following day, Thursday, 16, Virtus Bologna (2) will face EuroCup side Reyer Venezia (7).
The final match on Thursday will be played by Derthona Basket (3) against another EuroCup side, Aquila Trento Basket (6).
The teams that will advance to the semifinals will enjoy a free day on Friday, 17. On Saturday 18, it'll be time for both semifinals.
Finally, on Sunday, 19, there'll be the final for the title.
Quarterfinals
- Feb. 15, 18:00 CET: EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 72:75 Germani Brescia
- Feb. 15, 20:45 CET: Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro 84:80 Openjobmetis Varese
- Feb. 16, 18:00 CET: Virtus Segafredo Bologna 82:68 Umana Reyer Venezia
- Feb. 16, 20:45 CET: Bertram Yachts Derthona 74:70 Dolomiti Energia Trentino
Semifinals
- Feb. 18, 18:00 CET: Virtus Segafredo Bologna vs. Bertram Yachts Derthona
- Feb. 18, 20:45 CET: Germani Brescia vs. Carpegna Prosciutto Pesaro
Final
- Feb. 19, 18:00 CET: Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2
Talking points
Despite the difficulties in EuroLeague, Emporio Armani Milan, and Virtus Segafredo Bologna dominate the Italian league without too many issues. Both of them finished the first half of the season in the first two places in the competition.
Virtus might recover Semi Ojeleye in time for the Cup. Meanwhile, it looks unlikely that Milan will be able to bring Shavon Shields to Turin.
Behind them, though, there's been a few surprises. Derthona, which was the biggest surprise of last season (as a newly-promoted team, they reached the Italian Cup final and then the semifinals of the Italian League), is cementing its position as the main alternative to Milan and Bologna.
Coach Ramondino, once again, is doing a fantastic job with his group of players, and they will be an interesting team to watch in Turin.
Veteran head coach Jasmin Repesa is leading VL Pesaro to a surprising season. Considered one of the candidates for relegation at the beginning of the year, Pesaro finished the first half of the season in fourth position, finding good chemistry and resisting to a string of injuries.
Their American guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman has been one of the most positive surprises of the Italian league so far and will be one of the players to watch during the Cup.
The fifth-seeded team, Pallacanestro Varese, has been another pleasant surprise this season. Under American head coach Matt Brase, Varese is showcasing tremendous offensive potential as they're currently the best offense in the Italian league.
American guard Colbey Ross and athletic big man Tariq Owens have been amongst the best players in Italy this season.
Trento, Venezia, and Brescia are the teams that complete the package. The three EuroCup members have been struggling so far.
Trento has won only two games in EuroCup up to this point, and even in the Italian league, there have been many ups and down in their performances.
Venezia still has good possibilities to advance in EuroCup, but their performances in the Italian league have been below the ownership expectations.
Recently they decided to part ways with coach Walter De Raffaele, who had led them to two Italian league titles, and replaced him with former Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Neven Spahija.
After a solid start, Brescia began to have issues with injuries and showed a certain lack of killer instinct in the close games. The Italian Cup could be the right opportunity to shake up some of the negativity surrounding the team recently.
Throwback to last year
In the previous edition of the Italian Cup, Olimpia Milan won the title after beating Derthona Basket in the final 78-61.
American guard Malcolm Delaney, currently a free agent, won the MVP title in the final after finishing the game with 10 points and 5 assists.
