La Repubblica.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u00abI can really feel the intensity, even though here in Rome we are all newcomers when it comes to derbies. The fan bases themselves are not yet clearly defined. But one thing is certainly not missing: enthusiasm\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bianchini says the return of top-flight basketball to Rome does not surprise him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abI always felt that Rome wanted basketball back after six years without Serie A, and that the entire system wanted Rome back. It is no coincidence that the NBA included the capital in its European project\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remembering Virtus Roma\u2019s glory years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bianchini sees the Milan-Rome rivalry as one of the most memorable chapters in Italian basketball history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abRome has four million inhabitants, an enormous market that has been left untapped for far too long. Perhaps the most beautiful chapter in our basketball history unfolded along that axis. Us against them, in the 1980s\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coaching Virtus Roma, Bianchini won the Italian championship, the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, with a team featuring nine Roman players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also remembers playing Serie B derbies with Stella Azzurra against Lazio, coached at the time by Nello Paratore, one of the pioneers of Italian basketball. Despite the difference in the teams\u2019 standings, Lazio regularly managed to beat Stella Azzurra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abI complained. I said: \u201cNello Paratore is lazy. He makes an effort against us and then loses to everyone else\u201d. It was not a very nice thing for me to say\u00bb, Bianchini recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PalaEur and the footprints of Jerry West and Oscar Robertson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The PalaEur holds a special place in Bianchini\u2019s memories. In 1977, his team began practicing at the venue, which was still in a neglected state at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coach told his younger players that the court still bore the footprints of Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and the great players from the United States\u2019 Olympic gold-medal-winning national team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One young player responded with typical Roman humour: \u00abCoach, of course. They\u2019ve never swept this court\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abThat is the Roman spirit. It brings you back down to earth in an instant. I never left Rome again\u00bb, Bianchini said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At least 6,000 fans are expected for the derby at an arena with a capacity of 12,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nico Mannion, Totti and BC\u2019s project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nico Mannion is BC\u2019s leader, and Bianchini describes him as \u00aban enchanting player\u00bb. Mannion\u2019s mother, Gaia Bianchi, lives in Ostia and is already a passionate supporter of the team. Bianchini also knows Mannion\u2019s father, Pace, from their playing days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other side is Francesco Totti, adding another connection to Rome\u2019s football tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bianchini, however, emphasizes the sporting pedigree behind BC\u2019s project, led by president Donnie Nelson, the son of legendary NBA coach Don Nelson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abHe is the son of one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, who passed away a few weeks ago. He was among the first to bring top European players to the NBA in Dallas. Nowitzki and Doncic were Mavericks. Doncic is also part of our group and of that sporting aristocracy that decided to invest in Rome\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bianchini also revealed that Luka Doncic has already visited Rome, playing with youngsters at an outdoor court and meeting local authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abHe is Slovenian and understands what it means to play on this side of the Ocean, to play with your heart and soul\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NBA Europe or EuroLeague? \u00abWe want to last\u00bb<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
BC\u2019s project has also faced some scepticism, including the argument that the love of fans cannot simply be bought through investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bianchini responds by stressing the importance of financial sustainability in professional sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abSport requires major investment. True professionalism generates profit, not debt. The NBA is also coming to Europe because the EuroLeague is in crisis and clubs are struggling to balance their books\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked whether BC could shut down if it failed to join the future NBA Europe, Bianchini made the club\u2019s position clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00abI don\u2019t know what the intentions are on the other side. As far as we are concerned, Donnie Nelson chose to invest in Rome specifically to build something that will last. EuroLeague or NBA, it would make no difference\u00bb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After 46 years, a Serie A derby returns to Rome as Maxima Roma faces BC Roma at the PalaEur. Bianchini, BC\u2019s honorary president, discusses the excitement surrounding the game, the city\u2019s basketball history and the ambitions of the project led by Donnie Nelson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":548792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_spbk_hide_featured":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[197,259],"tags":[],"rumors":[],"typology":[],"posizionamento":[],"class_list":["post-548794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eurocup","category-serie-a"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/10\/2026Masi4Ott021.jpg","digistream_id":0,"digistream":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":548795,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548794\/revisions\/548795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548794"},{"taxonomy":"rumors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rumors?post=548794"},{"taxonomy":"typology","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/typology?post=548794"},{"taxonomy":"posizionamento","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportando.basketball\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posizionamento?post=548794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}