The Pallacanestro Varese season has officially begun. The day for the red-and-whites started in the morning with the usual medical exams, which all the players underwent at our partner facility, the Beccaria Multispecialty Center, before moving on to basketball practice in the late afternoon.

Under the guidance of Coach Giannis Kastritis and his staff, the team held its first preseason practice, which was attended by all players on the roster except for David Duke Jr., who was absent for a perfectly valid reason: The American player has just become a father and will join his teammates in Varese in the coming days.

It was a positive first training session, a good way to start building up stamina, get back into the swing of things, and—above all—begin to develop on the field the chemistry that will carry the team through the coming months. There was no shortage of enthusiasm, energy, and a willingness to work on a day that marks the first real step of the new season.

For the Red-and-Whites, this marks the official start of a journey that, over the coming weeks, will see training loads and intensity gradually increase, alternating daily workouts with preseason events. It’s a long journey full of experiences to be had, with a clear goal from day one: to be ready for the challenges awaiting Varese in Italy and Europe.

This afternoon, a press conference was held in the Itelyum Arena Lounge with General Managers Zack Sogolow and Max Horowitz and Coach Giannis Kastritis.

Here are their statements:

Giannis Kastritis
“I’m very pleased with the roster, and I thank the ownership for providing the resources to build a team. We’ve worked to address last season’s weaknesses, and now we’re ready to kick off two major competitions. We don’t feel any added pressure—we’re focused on getting started in a few days and on growing both on and off the court. The BCL and LBA are top-tier competitions, but this fits perfectly with our style of play. Compared to when I first arrived—when results were tough—we’re now reaping the rewards of a healthy and ambitious organization. We want to improve day by day, and I assure you that we have high expectations for both competitions. With so many talented players, we won’t change our style of play: there will be more games, so there will be opportunities and playing time for everyone.”

Zack Sogolow
“This strong start is a direct result of the great teamwork we’ve put in and the five new additions we made this summer. We’d like to thank the investors who shared our goals and supported the project with the necessary resources. We’re truly proud and grateful for the opportunity to have been selected and to compete in the BCL. Ours has always been an ambitious project, and the midweek cup games will be a great opportunity for our fans. A special thanks goes out to them—they always give us incredible support from the stands. We’ll work hard so that we can all celebrate together with them at the end of the season.”

Max Horowitz
“Over the past season, we evaluated more than 100 players across various criteria to build a strong team in which we have great confidence. The market has grown significantly, not only in Italy but also in countries like Greece and France. Our goal remains to invest in players to help them develop, including at the NBA Europe level and in our youth program. We’ve re-signed players like Alviti precisely because we’re convinced he can develop even further with us. We want to continue nurturing talent and providing stability to a coaching program that we consider solid. Meanwhile, the season-ticket campaign is going well. The results and the enthusiastic response from the fans are excellent, and this gives us great strength.”

The wait is almost over. In just five days, Pallacanestro Varese’s 2026–2027 season will officially kick off with the team’s training camp, scheduled for Monday, August 10—the first step on a journey that will take the red-and-whites all the way to the start of official competition.
The first on-court test is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25, with a scrimmage against JuVi Cremona, reserved exclusively for fans who purchased a Platinum Membership during the season ticket campaign. Details on how to request a ticket will be announced at a later date.

A few days later, on Friday, August 28, it will finally be time to see the team up close again. The Campus will host an open-door practice—a special opportunity for all Biancorossi fans to watch Coach Giannis Kastritis and his players at work, get to know the new faces on the roster up close, and once again experience the atmosphere of the court together. This will be the first real gathering with the red-and-white faithful to begin experiencing, side by side, the excitement of the new season.

The following day, Saturday, August 29, Varese will play a closed-door scrimmage at Olimpia Milano’s home arena; the preseason will then continue with the team’s participation in the Valtellina Summer League, where the Biancorossi will face Trieste on Saturday, September 5, at 6:00 p.m. and Cantù on Sunday, September 6, also at 6:00 p.m. Click HERE for tickets.

On the weekend of Saturday, September 12, and Sunday, September 13, the team will instead be competing in the Matera Tournament, which will also feature BC Roma SPQR, Napoli Basketball, and Longobardi Scafati Basket.

The final event before the start of the season will take place on Saturday, September 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the Itelyum Arena, where the Biancorossi will face Maxima Roma in a friendly match that will be followed by the team’s official presentation to the fans. For this occasion, season ticket holders for the 2025–2026 season will have the opportunity to attend the match for free, thereby symbolically making up for the home game against Trapani that was not played last season. Details on how to request a ticket will be announced at a later date.

The new season is just around the corner: the countdown has officially begun.

The Serie A Basketball League has officially released the schedule for the 2026-2027 regular season, outlining the path that Openjobmetis Varese will take in Italy’s top league. Following their return to European competition in the Basketball Champions League, the red-and-whites are gearing up for an intense and action-packed season, with the goal of thrilling their fans right from the opening tip-off of the league.

The first half of the season, which will determine the eight teams advancing to the Coppa Italia Final Eight in Turin, will conclude on Sunday, January 10, 2027. The final round of the regular season is scheduled for Sunday, May 9, 2027.

THE PLAYOFFS
The postseason dates will be made official based on the progress of Italian teams in European club competitions.

The 2027 Final Eight will take place from February 17th to 21st in Turin.
The top eight teams at the end of the first half of the season will compete for the Coppa Italia in the Final Eight, scheduled for February 17-21, 2027. For the fifth consecutive year, the tournament will be held at the Inalpi Arena in Turin.

WINDOWS FOR NATIONAL TEAMS
This season, two windows dedicated to national team activities are planned, with matches valid for qualification for the FIBA ​​World Cup 2027. The championship will therefore stop on the weekends of November 29, 2026, and February 28, 2027.

The season opener is scheduled for Sunday, September 27, at the Itelyum Arena against Virtus Bologna, while the first road game will take place a week later in Scafati. The first derby against Cantù is set for Matchday 10, Sunday, December 6, on the road, while the rematch in Masnago will be played on Matchday 19, February 7. The Biancorossi’s 2027 season will kick off with a matchup against Olimpia Milano on January 3, on the 14th matchday. The regular season will finally conclude on May 9, when Reggio Emilia visits the Itelyum Arena.

Below is the complete schedule for Openjobmetis Varese in the 2026-2027 Serie A season.

Date	Date	Match
1	September 27, 2026	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Virtus Bologna
2	October 4, 2026	Longobardi Scafati Basket vs. Openjobmetis Varese
3	October 11, 2026	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Pallacanestro Trieste
4	October 18, 2026	Dolomiti Energia Trentino vs. Openjobmetis Varese
5	October 25, 2026	Openjobmetis Varese vs. BC Roma SPQR
6	November 1, 2026	Tezenis Verona vs. Openjobmetis Varese
7	November 8, 2026	Openjobmetis Varese vs. APU Old Wild West Udine
8	November 15, 2026	UNA Hotels Reggio Emilia vs. Openjobmetis Varese
9	November 22, 2026	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Umana Reyer Venice
10	December 6, 2026	Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù vs. Openjobmetis Varese
11	December 13, 2026	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Maxima Rome
12	December 20, 2026	Napoli Basketball vs. Openjobmetis Varese
13	December 27, 2026	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Nutribullet Treviso Basket
14	January 3, 2027	Armani Olimpia Milano vs. Openjobmetis Varese
15	January 10, 2027	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Bertram Derthona Tortona
16	January 17, 2027	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Tezenis Verona
17	January 24, 2027	Pallacanestro Trieste vs. Openjobmetis Varese
18	January 31, 2027	Umana Reyer Venice vs. Openjobmetis Varese
19	February 7, 2027	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù
20	February 14, 2027	Nutribullet Treviso Basket vs. Openjobmetis Varese
21	March 7, 2027	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Napoli Basketball
22	March 14, 2027	Bertram Derthona Tortona vs. Openjobmetis Varese
23	March 21, 2027	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Dolomiti Energia Trentino
24	March 27, 2027	Virtus Bologna vs. Openjobmetis Varese
25	April 4, 2027	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Longobardi Scafati Basket
26	April 11, 2027	APU Old Wild West Udine vs. Openjobmetis Varese
27	April 18, 2027	Openjobmetis Varese vs. Armani Olimpia Milano
28	April 25, 2027	BC Roma SPQR vs. Openjobmetis Varese
29	May 2, 2027	Maxima Roma vs. Openjobmetis Varese
30	May 9, 2027	Openjobmetis Varese vs. UNA Hotels Reggio Emilia