Stefano Gentile (born 20 September 1989) is an Italian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Trapani Shark Trapani Shark is an Italian professional basketball team that is based in Trapani, Sicily. The club plays in the top division Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the Champions League. The team triumphed over rivals Blu Basket to win the 2023 ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

(LBA). At a height of tall, he plays at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position.

Professional career

Gentile started his club career at his father

Nando Nando may refer to: People * Nando (name), a male given name or nickname (short for Fernando, Ferdinando, etc.) * Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos (born 1950), known as Nandó, Angolan politician and former Prime Minister of Angola * Nando (f ...

's last team,

Juvecaserta Basket Sporting Club JuveCaserta (sometimes spelled Juve Caserta), also known as Decò Caserta after its title sponsor, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Caserta, Campania. The team currently plays in the Serie B1, the third tier of Ita ...

, in the

LegaDue Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with ...

(Italian 2nd Division). He then went to

Andrea Costa Imola Andrea Costa Imola is an Italian professional basketball team based in Imola, Emilia-Romagna. The side is playing in the second division Serie A2 as of the 2015-16 season. History Andrea Costa Basket was founded on 4 October 1967, with the name a ...

, of the same division, where his father was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

. With Andrea Costa Imola, he caught the eye of

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

(Italian first division) side Armani Jeans Milano, a club in which his father had previously been a star player. With Milano, he played in the Italian first division, and also the European-wide top-tier level

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. However, he struggled to get any meaningful playing time, and he then dropped down to the Italian fourth division level, first with Assi Ostuni, and then with

Aquila Basket Trento Aquila Basket Trento, also known for sponsorship reasons as Dolomiti Energia Trento, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trento, Trent, Trentino. It was founded in 1995 as an amalgamation of two local clubs, going from the amateur ...

. After a good season with Aquila Basket Trento, in which the club gained a league promotion to the LegaDue (Italian 2nd Division), he reentered the Italian top division, with Junior Casale, before later joining his former team,

, also in the Italian first division. With Caserta, he flourished under head coach

Stefano Sacripanti Stefano "Pino" Sacripanti (born 15 May 1970 in Cantù, Italy) is an Italian professional basketball coach, he is the current head coach for Victoria Libertas Pesaro of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Coaching career He is the coach of the ...

, and earned a selection to the 2012–13 Italian All-Star Game, where he played alongside his brother, Alessandro, and he was awarded MVP. When the club's head coach Sacripanti, moved to the ambitious club

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – agai ...

, he quickly recruited Gentile to join him. With Cantù, Gentile contributed to the team's good season, as they finished in 3rd place in the 2013–14 Italian League season, and reached the last 32 stage of Europe's second-tier level competition, the EuroCup. In July 2015, he joined

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also simply known as Reggiana or Reggio Emilia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Unahotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as ...

, signing a two-year contract with the club. In April 2017, he became a player of

Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

. On March 31, 2024, he signed with

of the Serie A2.

National team career

After playing with the national youth age categories Italy, Gentile dropped off the Italian national team's radar until 2012, when he made his debut with the senior men's

Italian national basketball team The Italy men's national basketball team () represents Italy in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). Italy has qualified for 38 EuroBasket tournaments, winning two gold medals ( ...

. In 2014, he played at the FIBA EuroBasket 2015 qualification tournament, in which Italy qualified for the main

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

tournament.

Personal life

Gentile is the son of the Italian basketball icon

Nando Gentile Ferdinando Gentile, commonly known as Nando Gentile (born 1 January 1967), is an Italian former professional basketball player and coach. Playing as a point guard, Gentile had a successful pro club playing career, amassing a slew of team trophies ...

. Stefano moved around Italy and Europe, following his father during his playing career. Along with his younger brother Alessandro, he played with the youth teams of Panathinaikos in Greece, while his father played with the club's senior team.Aita, Alessandro
"The Gentile family: Stefano catches up with Alessanro and won't let him go."
'Dailybasket'', 17 December 2014. Retrieved on 27 February 2015. His younger brother is Italian basketball player Alessandro Gentile. He has played with his brother in the senior Italian national team and

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileItalian League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentile, Stefano 1989 births Living people Andrea Costa Imola players Aquila Basket Trento players A.S. Junior Pallacanestro Casale players Dinamo Sassari players Italian men's basketball players Juvecaserta Basket players Lega Basket Serie A players Olimpia Milano players Pallacanestro Cantù players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Point guards Sportspeople from the Province of Caserta Virtus Bologna players Pallacanestro Trapani players 21st-century Italian sportsmen