D ALIE Raelin

General
FROM THE UNITED STATES TO ITALY
Her great grandparents emigrated from Italy to Waterford, WI, United States of America, where their last name D'Elia was mistaken for D'Alie, and the name stuck. She says she has always felt connected to her Italian heritage, and after graduating from university in the United States of America she decided to play professional basketball in Italy. She left for Italy in 2011 with her sister, despite neither knowing how to speak Italian. "It was hard because when you don't know the culture or the language, you try to figure it out on the way and you stumble a lot. But we had a blast doing it. Every region [in Italy] is just full of so much colour and life. I just completely fell in love with the people and the land and the culture, and I really believe this is where I was supposed to be." After entering a 3x3 basketball tournament in 2014, she was then approached to play for the Italian national 3x3 team. (repubblica.it, 07 Mar 2019; eu.jsonline.com, 01 Jan 2021)

FAMOUS SONG
In 2020, a song she composed was used as the official FIBA 3x3 basketball anthem, which was played at FIBA 3x3 basketball events across the world. "I started recording the first lines on my smart phone trying to tell the joy I felt after having confronted myself with people, the environment and the game itself. I put all my heart into making the song and I sing it to involve people in 3x3, introduce them to the game and above all to let them know that 3x3 is for everyone regardless of gender and nationality, that it is beautiful both to see and to play. The song is an invitation to try it, in any dimension." (fip.it, 01 Apr 2020)