Gabriele “Nane” Vianello, a prolific Italian basketball scorer who helped deliver Olimpia Milano’s first European Cup title in 1966 and played in three Olympic Games with Italy, died March 3, 2026. He was 87. A left-handed scoring wing/forward, Vianello was strongly associated with Olimpia Milano and Reyer Venezia during a career described as spanning roughly 1956 to 1972.
One of Vianello’s signature club achievements came with Simmenthal Olimpia Milano in 1966, when he was a decisive contributor to the team’s first European Cup (Coppa dei Campioni) title. He scored 40 points against Real Madrid in the quarterfinal return leg as Olimpia overturned a first-leg deficit to advance, then added 21 points in the final against Slavia Praga in Bologna to secure the trophy. The left-hander was known for his scoring touch on the wing, a hallmark he carried through his years with Olimpia Milano and Reyer Venezia.
With the Italian national team, Vianello made 127 appearances and scored 1,090 points. He represented Italy at the Olympics in Rome in 1960, Tokyo in 1964 and Mexico City in 1968.
His club journey included Pallacanestro Varese, where he played in the team’s first scudetto season in 1960/61. A transfer dispute after that title left him out for a full season before he later moved to Olimpia. He developed in Reyer Venezia’s youth system and later returned to Reyer to finish his playing career.
He also produced a single-game high of 67 points, cited as the second-best scoring performance in Olimpia Milano club history behind Sandro Riminucci’s 77—an enduring mark in a career that also included 127 appearances for Italy and three Olympic tournaments.