No peak high enough for Deguara to fulfil lofty ambitions

Samuel Deguara will be entering the fifth year of his contract with Italians Benetton Treviso next season, still living the dream of every young basketball player not only in our country but also elsewhere in the continent.

Up to a few years ago, 20-year-old Samuel Deguara was somewhat of an unknown figure on the international scene but when he took the court to represent Malta in an U-16 Promotion Cup tournament in Andorra he quickly caught the attention of the various scouts present in La Vella and his lifestyle changed in a flash.

Blessed with a towering height of 2.23 metres, Deguara needed little effort to put himself at the centre of attention and a few days after the tournament was over he was approached by some of the best teams in Europe, the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Treviso.

In the end, Deguara opted for the Italians’ nine-year contract and since then he has been training hard to develop into a top-level player capable of breaking into the first-team squad at the renowned Serie A1 club.

“This has been a memorable journey for me,” Deguara told The Sunday Times just a few days after returning to Malta to spend his summer holidays with his family.

“The last four years of my career have been a useful experience in my maturity as a man and a basketball player. When I started my spell in Treviso a completely new chapter in my life got under way.

“The set-up is very professional and after signing the papers everyone expects you to give your 100 per cent on a regular basis and try to help the club reach its objectives. When I moved there I almost had to start from scratch as the coaches decided I should first polish and improve my basics of the game.

“Thanks to them, I feel that I have improved a lot as a player but I still have a long way to go to reach my full maturity.

“But my desire to keep improving grows every day and I’m relishing the challenge no matter how big it is.”

These four years in Italy have also provided some difficult tests for the former Ħamrun and Nax-xar player.

“The season before last was a very tough one for me,” Deguara recalls.

“I suffered a knee injury that ruled me out of the game for eight months. That was a very testing period. It was difficult for me not to be able to play but at the same time I learnt a lot of myself.

“During rehabilitation I became more aware of what my body needs and how to take more care of my physical fitness. Mentally, I became a much stronger person and that has been of great benefit.

“Fortunately, I still ended that season on a high as I came back just in time for the final play-offs and the team went on to win the youth league title. Incredibly, I was voted best centre of the play-offs. So, I cannot really complain about that one.”

Last season, Deguara was loaned out to Serie B2 side BVO Caorle as the Treviso coaches were looking to see the Maltese centre playing more regularly in a competitive league but his spell with the Veneto club was not really positive as Deguara struggled to adapt both on and off the pitch.

“Treviso came up with this proposal to play in Serie B so I could get more playing time on court,” he said.

“I opted for Caorle who are based close to Treviso. However, the daily travelling for training and matches became tiring and I was not happy because the level in B2 was rather low. I struggled for form as there were no other players of similar stature and I ended up being penalised consistently by the referees.

“Next season, Treviso are planning to loan me out to another club. Hopefully, this time my new destination will be an A2 club.

“I want to make the most of this move and I also intend to change town for the whole duration of the season to reduce travelling and stay focused on my game.

“At the moment, my agent is looking for the best possible move. We shall discuss all options but I think everything will be sorted out in the short term. I can’t look back now... I have great ambitions so this is a chance I have to take.”

Pasquali’s training

Benetton will still continue to monitor Deguara’s progress and hired coach Renato Pasquali to take him under his charge and see that development progress is maintained.

Pasquali, a respected figure in the basketball scene having had coaching spells with Virtus Bologna, Dynamo Kiev and NBA side Toronto Raptors, is confident Deguara will succeed in his basketball career.

“Samuel Deguara is a nice lad and a very interesting prospect,” Pasquali said.

“Last season, we sat down together and had a good chat. During training he showed great commitment and the application was optimal.

“Normally, players of such high stature only reach their peak at 24 or 25 years. Sam still has another four years to reach that point.

“He’s an enthusiastic player and in my opinion it’s too early to predict where his game would take him in future.

“Surely, what he needs is to continue training seriously as we believe that in future he will derive a lot of satisfactions for himself and his country.”