If we started mentioning all the teams he played for and all the floors he played on, any reader might think they were reading an article about a basketball veteran. Thoughts at first glance totally justifiable, analyzing the CV of the player in question: youth sector of Azzurra Basket Trieste with which he participates in 3 national finals; Pallacanestro Trieste youth, senior and debut in Serie A; Monfalcone in Serie B; APU Udine, Eurobasket Rome and, today, Basket Turin. And yet, whether you believe it or not, Matteo Schina he is just 23 years old. Born in 2001, the registry doesn’t lie. Yet another virtuous product from a Trieste that never stops giving talent to basketball, even at the cost of having to pay the costs. Matteo will in fact be Pallacanestro Trieste’s next opponent in the first round of the play-offs against Torino. To all intents and purposes, it’s a return as an ex that we wanted to ask the interested party to tell us about.
Triestino and child prodigy of Pallacanestro Trieste. How are you experiencing this round of play-offs?
It’s definitely not a game like any other. The fact of returning to Trieste and having the opportunity to play against the Trieste players, but especially against my great friend Lodovico Deangeli, will not be at all trivial from an emotional point of view. However, I feel lucky to have this opportunity. Then obviously when you enter the field and they raise the ball, you no longer think about teammates, friends or enemies, but only about the game and helping your teammates bring home the result.
If you look back and analyze your basketball training in Trieste, which person or which moment do you think were decisive in building your career?
I am convinced that everyone really gave their contribution, bringing their little brick and allowing me to believe in it. I was taught the culture of work and the desire to improve myself every day, fundamental ingredients combined with the passion you carry within you. Not really wanting to leave anyone out and reiterating how everyone participated, however, I’ll mention my cousin Marco Ponga, coach of Azzurra Basket and the first to wean me in the early years. The trainer Paolo Paoli, a beacon and guide for everyone, who always allowed us to train with a smile. Then Marco Legovich and Eugenio Dalmasson to whom I am grateful for welcoming me into the first team.
Do you have an inspirational role model in the world of sport?
In Trieste I was really lucky because I had the opportunity to share the locker room with veterans like Daniele Cavaliero and Andrea Pecile and from them I learned how important work culture is. The player from whom I always try to steal something with my eye and from whom I try to take inspiration is the Real Madrid playmaker Facundo Campazzo, similar to me in terms of physical size and a truly extraordinary basketball player in terms of imagination and reading of the game.
