Fagnano Olona - A story of sport and inclusion, the MaiSMais Baskin Manigunda plays the final of the Italian Cup - Sport - Varese News

"At first, no one believed us, we seemed like runaways - laughs Chiara Aldizio , as she thinks back to when the baskin team she founded years ago was born - It all started in 2023, with only five athletes. Even though they were all inexperienced, thanks to commitment and the desire to have fun, we slowly built a close-knit and contagious group".

That dialect name that incites you to fight

The name is actually a dialect term: «We are called MaiSmais (pronounced Mai Smaìs with the accent on the i) it is a dialect expression that means “ Never Despair, Never Give Up ”: these two simple words contain our entire history».

Four baskets on the field for an inclusive game

Baskin is a “revisited” basketball: «It is a sport born in 2001, but it is spreading only in the last few years. What is innovative above all is the team that takes to the field: six players play, all 14 years old and up, who must be representative of the entire team. So there are able-bodied and disabled people, men and women, beginners and professionals, no one excluded, and we - adds Aldizio proudly - also have a 76-year-old player . In these years we have recruited very different people, even entire families - mother, father, children - and grandparents with grandchildren. The rule is always the same: do not exclude anyone".

The dynamics of the game are already evident from the characteristics of the field: «We play on a normal basketball court, with two regular baskets, but, in addition to those, there are two more, in the middle of the field, with a reserved area for disabled players . Therefore, there are two attack zones and two defense zones».

From “runaways” to a team that has learned to believe in dreams

It all started with skill and passion: «I am an educator, before being a coach, and I have always worked with disabilities. I was looking for something that could create sharing and I discovered baskin : as a basketball enthusiast and with my training as an educator I thought it could really teach people to collaborate with each other. This is how our team was born, which found a “home” in Fagnano Olona, ​​at the PalaMarino, thus wearing yellow and blue. We are also affiliated with Cestistica Manigunda , from which we take our name».

"A large network of help has been created around us: everyone contributes what they can, some the field, some the uniforms, some the volunteers. It is a project that continues to grow, welcomed with curiosity and attention. The magic is precisely this: making everyone collaborate together, outside and inside the field ."

"Now we have about thirty members and, thanks to the professionals who play with us, the games are not lacking in adrenaline, fun to watch and to play. Even the athletes who stay in the middle of the field, in the "protected area" are actually the ones who score the most points , because baskin manages to involve everyone " details Aldizio, the soul of the team and first fan of her players.

A final to play

Saturday 21 June and Sunday 22 June are two dates circled in red on the calendar for MaiSmais Baskin Manigunda: the team is expected in Ferrara for the Coppa Italia finals .

"Last year we signed up for the championship and it was incredible, without taking ourselves too seriously we started winning. We won the title of representatives of the Lombardy Region and now in Ferrara we will play with a team from Udine, one from San Benedetto Del Tronto and one from Santarcangelo di Romagna. The tension now is high, as is our emotion".

Solidarity of the territory

The MaiSais Manigunda players do not know how the matches will go, but they have certainly already won in the hearts of their supporters, ready to cheer even from afar ( here is the live streaming).

"We are surrounded by so much affection and we are collecting a great generosity from the territory - says Aldizio with a voice that betrays a strong emotion - thanks to some anonymous donors our trip was paid , while the bags are a gift from the Nasav Company - security and surveillance of Marnate, where my husband, who passed away three months ago, worked. He was also part of the history of this team and the boys remember him at every match, he is always with us".

With all these emotions in their hearts, the group is ready for the days in Ferrara: « We can only be grateful for this embrace that has allowed us to leave , for some it is the first trip away from home and it will be a great adventure».

What we have told is not (just) a sports story.

Every detail of this adventure, from Chiara Aldizio's first courageous intuition, to the formation of the team, to the rooting in the territory, show how much energy there can be behind a shot at the basket. And the director of all this confides it with eyes wet with tears, while she focuses on the details of the Ferrara matches: « We will play with the Serie A scoreboard, so, with every basket made, we will be able to see our boys. This is the greatest victory: their success, having believed in it. All together».