"Sport brings people together. It excites. It inspires. It educates to respect the rules and the others, to feel part of a team capable of extraordinary results. These are values that we must also put in place in this difficult match against this health emergency. Vaccinating is important, and each of us must make our surroundings aware that it can save lives". If that's not a lightning-fast third time round, it is close enough. Luigi Datome, a basketball player for Olimpia Milano and the Italian national team, took only a few steps to get on stage in the Sala Blu and score a point (of common sense) in front of the Giffoners' eyes in the IMPACT! section.
The athlete, born in 1987, has a calm tone but clear thoughts during the meeting chaired by journalist Ettore Di Lorenzo at Multimedia Valley. Born in Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso, he has lived in various Italian, European and overseas cities for work reasons. Datome is a world basketball number one. With his talent he has walked the prestigious parquet floors of the American professional league wearing the jerseys of Detroit and Boston. "In the United States there are so many structures dedicated to sport. Here in Italy, on the other hand, there is a historical deficit that must be eliminated. But the central problem remains cultural. Sport also has a valuable social function. It trains men and women and in many cases literally takes them off the streets, out of situations of existential difficulty. If this awareness is acquired, the construction of sports facilities will be a consequence".
To the IMPACT! giffoners, Datome reveals a strong passion for cinema. His favourite actress is Meryl Streep, and the film he would never stop watching is "Into the Wild", whose soundtrack reminds him of a close friend who recently passed away.
