| Pallacanestro Cantù | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | Lega Basket Serie A |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1980-01-25)25 January 1980 (age 45) |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Coaching career | 2004–present |
| Career history | |
Coaching | |
| 2004–2016 | Pallacanestro Cantù(assistant) |
| 2016 | Pallacanestro Cantù |
| 2016–2017 | Lugano Tigers |
| 2017–2018 | Orlandina(assistant) |
| 2018–2019 | Pallacanestro Cantù(assistant) |
| 2019 | Pallacanestro Cantù |
| 2019–2021 | Aquila Basket Trento |
| 2021–2024 | Pistoia Basket 2000 |
| 2024–present | Pallacanestro Cantù |
| Career highlights | |
Nicola Brienza (born 25 January 1980) is an Italian basketball head coach, who is the current coach forCantù of ItalianLega Basket Serie A (LBA).
Nicola Brienza started his coach-career managing the youth sector ofPallacanestro Cantù and in 2004 he became assistant coach of the club inSerie A until 2016, when he was named head coach for two matches in the interim between coachesFabio Corbani andSergei Bazarevich, starting with a home victory againstAquila Basket Trento.[1] He remained as assistant coach toSergei Bazarevich until the end of the season.
On 17 June 2016 he became head coach for theSwiss clubLugano Tigers in theSwiss Basketball League.[2] Nicola lead the team to the third place in the league, only losing 3-2 againstBBC Monthey in the semi-final.
On 12 July 2017 he came back toItaly as assistant coach forOrlandina Basket in Serie A.[3]
On 12 June 2018 Brienza signed again an assistant coach for his first club Cantù[4] until January 2019, whenEvgeniy Pashutin resigned, he was named head coach of the club.[5] With a 9-4 record, the team topped the second round chart after being in the bottom position after the first round, reaching the 7th place but being left out from playoffs due to head-to-head games record.
On 10 June 2019 Brienza was named new head coach ofAquila Basket Trento.[6] In the 2019-2020 season, the team reachedEuroCup Basketball Top 16 and was ranked seventh in the domestic league when the season was suspended due toCOVID-19 pandemic. In the 2020-2021 season,Aquila Basket Trento qualified for the second year in a row forEuroCup Top 16, after winning the first six matches of the competition. Nonetheless, Brienza parted ways with Trento on 31 January 2021 after losing six matches in a row in the domestic league, leaving the team in eleventh position, despite being still fighting for a spot in theEuroCup Final 8.[7]
On 26 June 2021 Brienza signs withPistoia Basket 2000.[8] The team immediately wins the 2021 LBA Supercup,[9] reaches an honorable 3rd place inSerie A2 2021-2022 and loses in the fifth game of semifinals against future championsScaligera Verona. InSerie A2 2022-2023, Pistoia qualifies as second in regular season and after a fantastic run against Piacenza and favoritePallacanestro Cantù, defeats Torino and qualifies for the 2023-2024Serie A1 Basket.[10] InSerie A 2023-2024 Pistoia, despite being considered as underdog in the summer power rankings,[11] in February qualifies for Italy Cup Final 8 and later reaches an historic sixth place, qualifying forSerie A playoffs.[12] On 15 May 2024, Brienza is awarded with 2023-2024LBA Coach of the Year trophy.[13]
On June 20, 2024, he signed withPallacanestro Cantù (LBA).[14]
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