FONTECCHIO Simone

Athlete

Daughter Bianca

English, Italian

Saski Baskonia [Spain] since 2021

Dusko Ivanovic [club]; Meo Sacchetti [national]

Small forward (albaberlin.de, 01 Jan 2021)

His father Daniele represented Italy in athletics and competed in the 110m hurdles at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. His mother Amalia Pomilio was a hurdler and basketball player who competed at national level in Italy, while his brother Luca and his grandfather Vittorio also played basketball at an elite level. (SportsDeskOnline, 13 Jul 2021; albaberlin.de, 01 Jan 2021; tagesspiegel.de, 18 Nov 2020)

Liga ACB [ESP] (as.com, 09 Jul 2021)

He divided his time between athletics and basketball when he was younger before deciding to focus on basketball. "I realised very early on that you need even more self-discipline for athletics. You are alone with your career and it is mentally difficult. I was also just better at basketball." (tagesspiegel.de, 18 Nov 2020)

"Basketball just needs a lot of attention. You have to make a lot of sacrifices. Work ethic and dedication never stop. You always have to be ready to work to become a better player than yesterday." (basketball.de, 09 Apr 2021)

He was named Best Player Under 22 in the Italian Lega A for the 2014/15 season. (basketball.realgm.com, 01 Jan 2021)