By Stefan Acevski / info@eurohoops.net
Italian Walter De Raffaele is the new coach of Japan’s Utsunomiya Brex, the club announced on social media.
For the first time in his long career, De Raffaele will work outside of Italy, where he left a significant mark, primarily working for Reyer Venezia.
With Venezia, where he worked from 2016 to 2023, De Raffaele was twice the champion of Italy (2017, 2019), won the Italian Cup once (2020), and in 2018 won the FIBA Europe Cup.
He also worked in Pavia, Scaligera Verona, five years as an assistant in Venezia, and his last engagement was with Derthona, where he was the coach from 2023 to 2025.
As for Utsunomiya, they compete in the B. League, the highest basketball league in Japan, and won their last title in the 2024/25 season.
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