Great basketball is back in Castelfiorentino, with two of the protagonists of the upcoming A2 championship. Saturday 14 September at the PalaBetti (Viale Roosevelt) will in fact see the 2nd edition of the “Nedo Betti and Mario Gilardetti” Trophy, the founding fathers of Castelfiorentino basketball, whose origins date back to the autumn of 1945.
Competing for the trophy in a single match will be Libertas Livorno and Fortitudo Bologna, who have players of undisputed national and international value, as well as some talent that grew up in ABC Castelfiorentino itself, such as Luca Tozzi, by now a staple of Libertas Livorno and an undisputed idol of the Livorno fans.
The match, whose kick-off is at 7:00 p.m., is part of the official pre-season of the two clubs, and is organised by ABC Castelfiorentino with the patronage of the Municipality and the Italian Basketball Federation (contribution of In3c srl).
Nedo Betti (who passed away in 2009), was both coach, founder and manager of ABC Castelfiorentino for many years, and all the sports results achieved by the club over forty years bear his signature. Recognised as a true leader of the sports club, the sports facility (also known as the “Palazzetto dello Sport”) where Saturday’s match will be played is named after him.
Mario Gilardetti (who passed away in 2011) was part of the group of young people from Castelfiorentino who, in the immediate post-war period, infected by an American battalion stationed in Castelfiorentino (who played basketball in their spare time), created the first basketball teams in the 1950s, and later, in 1966, founded the Castelfiorentino Basketball Association (ABC) together with Nedo Betti and Remo Parri, taking on the role of president until his death. The multi-purpose gym in Via XXV Aprile was named after Mario Gilardetti.
‘’What Nedo and Mario built,‘’ observes the Deputy Mayor with responsibility for sport, Fabio Tinti, ‘’we can see every day, on and off the playing floor. Their values and passion for sport have been absorbed by everyone and passed on to the younger generations, as has always been their concern. It goes without saying that the right occasion to remember two people who made the history of Castelfiorentino is a sporting event in which national and international level teams participate. On behalf of the administration of the Municipality of Castelfiorentino, I thank the sports club ABC CASTELFIORENTINO for their work in organising such a high-level event‘.’
