Paola Egonu, head coach: “She will react. I convinced her father.”

Paola Egonu, head coach gets some credit

Fabiola Bellù, Paola Egonu’s first coach, spoke with Corriere della Sera about the champion’s first steps on the parquet. “She was a slim and very tall teenager who was demoralized at first because the ball ended up against the net,” she recalled.

“One day her father took me aside, telling me that he was thinking of taking his daughter to America because he had a relative who worked in the basketball world,” she added. “I answered him that Paola was made for volleyball, not basketball, and that thanks to her great humility within a few years she would make it to the A Series. He was convinced. And fortunately time proved me right.”

“Those who are picking on her are moved only by malice and envy. She usually does not let herself be hurt, but she is obviously tired and under pressure now. However, I am convinced that she will find the strength to react and continue wearing the blue colors, those of the nation to which she belongs 100 percent,” Bellù added.