Ferdinando 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 won in Italy and Greece, including the EuroLeague title.

He also played with the senior Italian national team, with whom he won a silver medal at the EuroBasket 1991.

Professional career Gentile, a Caserta native, started his career at only 15, with local side Juvecaserta Basket, playing under head coach Bogdan Tanjević, in 1982. He played in a few games, as the team earned promotion from the Italian second division Serie A2, to the Italian first division LBA, at the end of the season.

Gentile soon became a "big-time player" for Caserta, helping them qualify for the 1983–84 FIBA Korać Cup, which was their first participation in a European-wide competition. Caserta and Gentile reached the final of the 1985–86 FIBA Korać Cup, but lost to Virtus Roma.

When owner Bepi Stefanel left Trieste, to go to Olimpia Milano in 1994, he also moved the whole squad to Milan, including Gentile and Tanjević. Gentile captained the team, as they won the Italian double (winning the Italian League and Italian Cup) in the 1995–96 season. They also nearly won the small triple crown, but they lost in the Korać Cup final.

He played in two other European-wide finals with Milan, the 1995 Korać Cup, and the 1998 EuroCup, but he lost both, whilst in 1997, he suffered a knee injury, as Milan lost in the EuroLeague quarterfinals.

After having made his debut for the senior men's Italian national basketball team in 1984, he took part in EuroBasket 1987, EuroBasket 1993, and EuroBasket 1995.

With Italy, he was a silver medalist at the EuroBasket 1991. He also played at the 1993 Mediterranean Games, winning gold. However, he did not finish the season coaching the club, after he bad results.

He joined Virtus Roma as an assistant coach in 2008. When the team's head coach, Jasmin Repeša, resigned after a few months, Gentile was appointed the team's new head coach, in January 2008. Though he was confirmed as the club's head coach for the 2009–10 season,

A coaching stint with Veroli, in the 2011–12 season, remains to date, his last coaching experience.

Personal Nando's two sons, Stefano and Alessandro, are also professional basketball players, and both have also played with Nando's former team, Olimpia Milano. Alessandro was also the captain of Milano, and he also played with Panathinaikos, another of Nando's former teams.

Honours Team Italian senior national team EuroBasket: 1991 Italy Mediterranean Games: 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon

Club EuroLeague: Champion (2000). 3× Greek Basket League: Champion (1999, 2000, 2001). 2× Italian LBA League: Champion (1991, 1996). 2× Italian Cup: Winner (1988, 1996).