The National team with Down Syndrome wins gold at the European Championships with Spiga and Paulis from Oristano and coach Dessì
ORISTANO. The Italian national basketball team with down syndrome has confirmed itself as the queen of Europe. The Azzurri, at the 2021 Euro TriGames in Ferrara, defeated the competition from Portugal and Turkey and reaffirmed their continental superiority, after the 2017 European title and the two World Cups won in 2018 and 2019. also two Sardinian boys: Antonello Spiga from Oristano, who is also the captain of Italy, and Davide Paulis from Quart, best scorer of the tournament with 64 points overall scored in just 4 matches.
«The team includes two boys who are members of Atletico Aidp from Oristano – said the assistant coach of the Azzurri Mauro Dessì, from Villaurbana -. Antonello Spiga is the team captain, then there is Davide Paulis from Quartu Sant’Elena ». Both were instrumental in the Italian victory. «Antonello’s style of play is imprinted entirely on grit and determination – explains Dessì – also thanks to a strong physique, since he was one of the most physical of the event. He is 45 years old and has been appointed captain by experience (4 years with the National team, 15 with Atletico Aidp) and by age. If he wasn’t brilliant in qualifying, he was among the best in the final, especially on a defensive level, where he was a real block for the Turks ».
Davide’s story is very different: «He is from Quartu and we discovered him in another company, Millesport – says Dessì -. We asked him and his family if they wanted to sign him with us to allow him to compete on an equal footing with people with down syndrome. He is young, 25 years old, and has a particularly fast run and excellent technique on his side. Then, under the basket he is a sniper ».
Antonello and Davide were the only Italians who were not accompanied by their parents, which is why every victory had a special weight for them. «The event is called Euro TriGames because it is dedicated to people with trisomy 21 – explains Dessì -, it was an event with 9 disciplines, including basketball. Only 3 teams participated, in addition to Italy, Turkey and Portugal. We qualified first and then we qualified for the final. The level, despite the small number of teams, was very high: in the qualifications, in fact, we were defeated by Turkey, which grew a lot compared to previous competitions and was a difficult opponent for our boys ».
The great feat of the Azzurri reached the final: thanks to a super defense, the Azzurri defeated the Turks 21-12. “Until the third quarter the race was still open – Mauro says -, then we were very strong in defense and we took home the result”. The athletes are guided by the technical staff, composed not only by Mauro, but also by the first coach Giuliano Bufacchi, and by Francesca D’Erasmo, whose presence was important given the presence in the team of a girl, Chiara Vingione: “They made us proud – assures Dessì -, seeing the boys apply what we asked of them on the pitch was a great satisfaction ».