VENICE (Basketball Champions League) - From the outside, the return of Umana Reyer Venezia to the Italian top flight in 2011 and their participation in the play-offs every season since then appears to be their biggest achievement following almost three decades of hardship.

But the biggest source of pride to the people of the Venetian club is the wider impact its renaissance had to the citizens and the society of Venice.

The visionary who kick-started the renaissance process in 2006 was Luigi Brugnaro, nowadays mayor of Venice.

"Luigi Brugnaro and the Umana group managed to unite three different entities of the Venice metropolitan area, including the women's team (who played EuroCup Women in 2016/17), into a single family," explained Federico Casarin, who took over as president of the club last June, when Brugnaro was elected to office.

"This had a huge impact on the men's team but, most importantly, boosted the youth section. Today we have almost 4,800 kids playing basketball within the youth structure and the boys' team reached the semi-finals of the Italian championship.

"When we started, we had less than 100 youth players, so this giant increase reflects the faith which the people of Venezia placed in us and we continue to grow because our partners continue to sustain this effort.

"At the base of our project is the social and cultural aspect. Our concept is that involving the citizens of Venice and surrounding towns is equally important to the sporting aspect."

Venezia have gone from strength to strength since returning to Serie A in 2011

Nevertheless, Venezia did remarkably well in the sporting arena, consolidating their place among the elite of Italy's Serie A and returning to European competitions in 2015.

Fans can finally see on the horizon the prospect of once again experiencing glory European nights similar to 1981, when a Venezia side led by the legendary Drazen Dalipagic reached the Korac Cup final.

The club regards the Basketball Champions League (BCL) as the competition that would crown their project and channel Venetian fans' renewed craze for basketball. 

"To us, the fact that the Basketball Champions League is linked to meritocracy, that the sporting results on the court decide participation in this competition, is of fundamental importance."

To us, the fact that the Basketball Champions League is linked to meritocracy, that the sporting results on the court decide participation in this competition, is of fundamental importance. - Casarin

"We understand of course that this leaves open any possibility but we are convinced that participation in an event at such a high level has to be considered the product of meritocracy.

"There might always be some additional options, such as wild cards, but these do not change the basis of the competition, which is purely the sporting criteria.

"In a sense, starting over again from the lower divisions was fortunate, because that surge gradually made fans who had drifted away fall in love with basketball again, while at the same time it attracted a new fan-base to our magnificent sport."

This mass support of Venetians and the club's sustainable model has rendered Venezia financially stable. They are in a position to appreciate the scaled prize structure of the BCL as a welcome additional resource, without depending on it for the survival of the organisation.

“We are very fortunate in that our main sponsor, the Umana group, is also the owner of the club and provides the financial resources for the team but also to the wider socio-cultural structure of the organisation," Casalin pointed out.

"That said, we have received all information on the BCL's financial system and we have no doubt it can help any club.

"Participating in a competition which gives financial rewards for every successful completion of a stage as a participant advances, is a big help towards constructing a stronger, more competitive team."