The countdown has officially begun. There is little more than three weeks left until the start of the Openjobmetis Varese Basketball 2018/19 season. Between Friday 17 and Saturday 18 August, Coach Attilio Caja’s players will be arriving in Varese and will undergo all the customary medicals. Then, on late Sunday afternoon, August 19, the Red & Whites will be appearing at the Enerxenia Arena to meet the fans for the classic welcoming to celebrate the beginning of the year that will kick off the season. Training will then begin on Monday, August 20. The team, however, will not be pulling back ¬¬¬– during the pre-season, the boys will be working on the Masnago sports hall court and the Red & Whites fans will have an opportunity to see their favourite players on court at home.



The official debut will take place against Biella Basketball on Saturday, September 1 at 8.30 pm in Castelletto Ticino. On the following day, Sunday, September 2, Varese will battle either Olimpia Milano or Junior Casale Monferrato. On Wednesday September 5, Ferrero and his team-mates will be at the Masnago Enerxenia Arena for a joint training session with Tortona. The weekend of September 8 and 9 will see the traditional Lombardy Trophy, now in its tenth year, which will be held in Desio (Varese, Cremona, Cantù and Trento being the participants). On Saturday at 19.00, Varese will encounter Trento. In the event of a victory the Red & Whites will play in the final on Sunday at 20.00 and, in the event of a defeat, there will be a match for third and fourth places at 16.00. On Wednesday September 12, Openjobmetis will be in Pavia for the Aldo Di Bella Memorial against Turin, while on the weekend of September 15 and 16, the team will be in Parma for a tournament against Tortona, Verona and Ravenna. On Wednesday September 19, the Red & Whites will play in a new joint training session at Enerxenia Arena with the Swiss Sam Masnago. Coach Attilio Caja’s team will then take part in the Roberto Ferrari Trophy in Brescia on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 September. Varese will be present together with Brescia, Pesaro and Zielona Gora. On Friday at 18.00, Varese will play against the Poles. The Saturday final for third and fourth places will be at 18.00 and the final for first and second places at 20.45. The Red & Whites pre-season on Wednesday, September 26 will again be at Masnago. Varese will play in a friendly against Legnano Basket. On Friday 28 and Saturday 29 September, Openjobmetis will be in the Udine Tournament (Varese, Udine, Pistoia and Virtus Bologna being the participants), which will close the pre-season.



The first official match of the Serie A Lega Basket will be played on Sunday October 7, while the FIBA Europe Cup debut is scheduled for Wednesday, October 17.



There may be variations in the pre-season programme.