Twenty-five years ago the extreme gesture of Enrico Bovone, a giant of Italian basketball

It has been 25 years since the tragic death of Enrico Bovone. On May 2, 2001, the news of the former basketball player’s death, at only 55 years of age, aroused great emotion in the sports world, and even today those who remember him speak of him with great regret. A former star of Italian basketball, he had played for years at the highest level, even wearing the national team jersey at the 1967 World Cup, the 1968 Olympics and the 1969 European Championships. He took his own life in the Sienese countryside, leaving dismay and grief.

Bovone marked an era, distinguishing himself as one of the first modern pivots in our basketball, so much so that he was nicknamed by Aldo Giordani “the Giantissimo.” Discovered at a very young age by a physical education teacher, he began his journey in Tortona, immediately attracting the interest of big clubs. After a curious episode involving executives from Milan and Varese, he landed in Varese itself, where he won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1967.

He then played in Milan, then Udine, where in the 1971-72 season he was among the best for points and rebounds. In 1973 he arrived in Siena, becoming a point of reference for Mens Sana and forming a very effective pair of longs with American Carl Johnson. He ended his career in 1979 and had a brief experience as an executive before stepping away from basketball for good.

In the national team he collected 65 appearances. He lived in Monteroni d’Arbia, in the province of Siena, where he ran a newsstand. A letter was found in the car in which he was found lifeless, in which he explained the reasons for the gesture and asked for cremation, with the ashes to be kept at the Laterino cemetery.