
The “Minibasket in Piazza” is not just basketball. Thanks to the collaboration with “Sport e Salute”, Stefano Maniscalco, karate champion, two-time world champion, and five-time European karate champion, will be hosted in Matera, during the week of the tournament. In addition to numerous Italian titles, he has won several other medals in various international competitions.
With him, who, however, lives, breathes, and follows basketball so much that he has a girlfriend who is the daughter of the late president of Olimpia Basket Melfi, Giorgio Cassotta, Gabriella’s father, we had a chat, crossing paths between the two disciplines and more.
What are the differences between a team sport like basketball and an individual one like karate?
“The differences are numerous. I come – explains Maniscalco – from an individual sport; I am an individualist, even as a child. Even when I played soccer, it was evident that I was an individualist because when I got the ball, I wouldn’t pass it to anyone. Even though today I am part of the NICO, the Italian National Olympic Football Team, which has made me immerse myself in the reality of team sports. In individual sports, you are yourself; you win with yourself, you lose with yourself; in team sports, in my opinion, you can relax a bit because you know you have a team behind you, which can make a difference. In individual sports, you are yourself even during the pre-match and post-match, especially when you win because, as is often said, victory has many fathers, but defeat is an orphan.”
Have you ever thought about playing basketball? Do you follow basketball?
“As a child, I played basketball. I was also part of the National Artists Basketball Team and played at an amateur level. Basketball is a sport I really like, also because it has many similarities with karate in terms of movements, one-on-one play. So I have always followed basketball, especially the NBA because in America, it’s man-to-man marking, so it brings back individual sports, one-on-one. Italian basketball, on the other hand, works more on zone defense, so it’s a bit more tactical. Over time, I have appreciated players like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.”
Basilicata and karate. The D’Onofrio family from Santarcangelo and the Zaccaro family from Matera. Your thoughts?
“Basilicata has a great tradition in karate, both with the D’Onofrio family and the Zaccaro family. For example, there was Vincenzo D’Onofrio, the head of the family, who is now a master. There are Francesco and Terryana, who are two great fighters. Francesco won the university championships in kumite, Terryana is a great champion and is in the kata national team. As for the Zaccaro family, Giuseppe, the head of the family, is one of the greatest referees worldwide; his son Peppe was a colleague of mine at the Fiamme Gialle with whom I trained; he is a great athlete in the 80 kg category, and I have great affection for him. Then there is Anna Maria Zaccaro, who was also a kata champion.”
From an established champion to a champion of the future: what would you say to a child embarking on the path of sport?
“To a child, I say that you need to have dedication, passion, and patience. Patience is the virtue of the strong. And you also need a lot of humility because the first results that come should not be the ones that consecrate us but those that lead us to improve.”
Finally, a look at Matera.
“My girlfriend is Lucanian, from Melfi. With her, last May Day, we visited Matera, even though I had already been there for the Italian championships, but on that occasion, I didn’t have the opportunity to visit it. In recent days, she has finally seen the beauty of this fantastic city, the Sassi. I tasted the antiquity, the beauty of Matera, and Italy in general.”
Now we just have to wait for Stefano Maniscalco for a new adventure among the Sassi of Matera as a special guest of the tournament.