PORTO SAN GIORGIO The basketball champion Antonello Riva talks about himself in the book entitled “The flight of Nembo Kid”. The book on Riva’s successful basketball career was presented in the council chamber of the municipality of Porto San Giorgio, crowded with former players, coaches, referees, basketball enthusiasts, including Cesare Pancotto and many enthusiasts. At the presentation, the mayor Valerio Vesprini recognized Riva as «the wisdom of the person. I recommend reading his book out of curiosity about his sporting life. Today, we have a highly qualified parterre here regarding this sport which remains our concern from past years. We live on memories of Rivafiorita and basketball, it would be appropriate to form a sports union to bring great basketball back to the city”.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The carreer
In Riva’s career, there are significant basketball titles and victories that have made him a protagonist of basketball, with 501 victories in Serie A. Born in 1962, Riva is considered one of the greatest champions of Italian basketball, starting with gold in european championship of 83. Nicknamed the Nembo Kid for his determination and extraordinary shooting skills, he made his debut aged 16, when he started playing in 1977/78 and was promoted to the first team. From there, important results and goals followed one another, up to the call-up in 1984 for the Los Angeles Olympics and then the World Cup, for a total of 206 matches and 3784 points overall, which is his highest record, with the his name 4 times in the top 10 positions. Riva didn’t stop for years, he himself admitted that for 14 years in a row he never went on vacation. The teams in which he played were Cantù, Milan, Pesaro, Rieti. In his palmares an Italian championship, one in Serie D, three Cup Winners’ Cups, two Champions’ Cups, an Intercontinental Cup. The idea for the book was born from the desire to bring out the human figure. «The result is a portrait – Riva explained – of the person and of the man, with some important messages also for young people. We decided not to follow the chronology and to divide the book into chapters, making reading lively and attractive». Making your debut at 16 means «having the charge of a young man. My luck was taking my first steps followed by Pierluigi Marzolati who blew up the basketball movement in Italy and Europe. When I arrived in Cantù, Marzolati was at the peak of his career and took me by the arm. It was enough to follow his training, to absorb the fundamental teachings to make a great career ». Riva won the champions’ cup at the age of 20 «Cantù – he explained – has always participated in international cups, to give young people the opportunity to gain experience. He had won all the cups, only the champions cup was missing. That year, all our energies were focused on bringing home that result. I remember the emotion when I entered the field. It was a very heartfelt result ». His greatest satisfaction was playing with his son. No regrets but just one disappointment, when in ’91 he lost the Scudetto after winning all his home games.
2023-08-10 01:01:15
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