ITA - Cantu look to make history against Milan

CANTU (Lega A) - Bennet Cantù's captain Nicolas Mazzarino has done his research and knows all too well that his team can make history when they take on Armani Jeans in Milan on Friday night for Game 3 of their semi-finals.

"The last time Cantù played a final series, in 1981, a lot of my team-mates weren't even born," Mazzarino said. "And it was three years before I started playing basketball in Uruguay”.

Cantù leads the best-of-five series 2-0.

The club used to be nicknamed “European Queen” in the 1970s and 1980s, when it won 10 European trophies (two Euroleague titles, four European Cups and four Korac Cups).

However, it hasn't had anything to celebrate in 20 years. The last trophy came with the 1991 Korac Cup and only three years later, it was relegated to the A2 championship.

Cantù's fortunes changed with the arrival of 43-year-old coach Andrea Trinchieri, who has been named Serie A “Coach of the year” the last two years.

Now the son of an American father and Croatian mother looks to end his team's 30-year wait to reach the finals again by defeating a team and a man he knows all too well: Milan and Dan Peterson.

Trinchieri grew up with Olimpia Milan and served the club as assistant coach until 2004.

He always admired Peterson, who led Milan to four domestic titles in the 1980s (1982, 1985, 1986 and 1987). But now he is playing against his alma mater and coach Peterson, Olimpia's historical symbol.

When the semi-final series got underway, Trinchieri talked about it by quoting the Sacred Bible and the story of David and Goliath.

“I did it because Milan is the metropolitan town, Cantù is just a small village going to the big city," he explained.

"But since 2 January we have been ahead of Milan in the standings, and we took care of this position”.

Reaching the finals would guarantee Cantù a Euroleague berth, the first in 17 years.

“So far we have enjoyed our season, winning the first five play-off games and playing the Italian Cup final” said Trinchieri.

“And when you know you are David and you face Goliath, it's easier to enjoy good moments."

In the semi-final series, Trinchieri has used comparisons with other sporting activities - cycling (“In Game 2 we were tired just like a cyclist hanging the Tourmalet mountain”); chess (“By winning the first two games we moved the pawn and then the knight”); even rugby (“We need to be a single core, just like a rugby team on a scrum situation”).

But with his team 2-0 on Armani Jeans, he makes sure not to look too far ahead at the possibility of a final against Montepaschi Siena.

“We just ensured we will play at least one more game in front of our attendance and we will enjoy it," he said.

FIBA