After a tournament played at the highest level, the men’s basketball team of the University Sports Centre (CUS) of Trieste secured a brilliant silver medal at the National University Championships (CNU), held in Ancona.

More than twenty years since their last podium finish and nearly thirty years since their last championship title in 1996, the University of Trieste has returned to the top tier of university basketball, thanks to the players superbly led by head coach Dejan Faraglia and assistant coach Matteo Filippone.

Over an intense week of competition, the UniTS team first dominated their group stage, defeating the CUS teams of Macerata, Pisa, and Insubria, before overcoming the Turin side in the semi-finals. In the final, despite an outstanding performance that saw them remain in contention until the final possessions, CUS Trieste’s campaign was brought to an end by the formidable Bologna team.

‘The boys were extraordinary,’ said coach Faraglia. ‘They played five matches at an exceptionally high level and came close to matching Bologna even in the final. I’m proud of this group for delivering such an important result for both CUS Trieste and the University of Trieste after so many years.’

CUS Trieste President Michele Pipan, in addition to thanking the staff for their crucial role in achieving this result, highlighted how ‘the group managed to become and act as a true team, both on and off the court.’ In fact, during the regular season, the ten players, with few exceptions, do not play together, as they compete in higher-level leagues with other clubs. For the CNU, however, they came together to represent the University of Trieste, demonstrating a strong sense of belonging to the UniTS academic community.

The silver-medal-winning CUS Trieste team was composed of: Paolo Scoleri (Naval Engineering), Federico Paganotto (Naval Engineering), Matteo Baissero (International Economics and Financial Markets), Luca Pauletto (Medicine and Surgery), Daniel Riccio (Electronic and Computer Engineering), Matteo Varesano (Business Administration and Management), Giacomo Comelli (Health Care), Mattia Gattolini (Medicine and Surgery), Federico Gallo (Marketing and Management), Giovanni Del Ben (Dentistry and Dental Prosthetics).