Awudu Abass

Awudu Abass
No. 5 Acqua Vitasnella Cantù
Position Small forward
League Serie A
Personal information
Born January 27, 1993
Como, Italy
Nationality Italian
Listed height 200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight 100 kg (220 lb)
Career information
Pro career 2010–present
Career history
2010–present Acqua Vitasnella Cantù
Career highlights and awards

Awudu Abass Abass (born January 27, 1993) is an Italian professional basketball player who currently plays for Acqua Vitasnella Cantù of the Serie A as a small forward.

Personal life

His father is originally from Ghana whilst his mother is from Nigeria (not Togo as erroneously reported by some sources), they met in Rome where they married before moving to Como where Awudu was born. He obtained Italian citizenship as soon as he could, at the age of 18, having to wait that long as he was born to foreign nationals. [1]

Abass still lives in Como, in 2012, at only 19, he was a candidate for the communal elections as second on the Amo la Mia Città list, however it obtained only one seat so he was not elected.[2]

Professional career

Abass joined local club Pallacanestro Cantù as a teenager, progressing quickly through the youth ranks to make his debut in 2011 aged only 18. He was too young to make an immediate impact, playing sparingly in his first three seasons, he did however grab minutes, and rebounds, in Europe's top tier Euroleague, playing two games, one against powerhouse Real Madrid.

The 2013-2014 proved to be his breakthrough season, he earned regular minutes in Serie A and European second tier Eurocup, as a youth product he became a fan favourite and was awarded the captaincy the next season, becoming the youngest captain of Cantù's history.[3]

Italian national team

Abass was called up soon after officially becoming Italian, joining the Under-20 side of the Italian national basketball team that won gold at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship where he was part of the All Tournament team. Although he was called up to the senior team for the Serie A All Star game as one of the best Italians in the league, he hasn't yet played for the side in a competitive game.

References

  1. Mocerino, Stefano. "Exclusive - Abass reveals all: Cantù, the national team, his origins."Basket Italy, 29 July 2013. Retrieved on 16 March 2015.
  2. "The candidates."Amo la Mia Città. Retrieved on 16 March 2015.
  3. Comerio, Fabrizio. "Abass, the youngest captain in the history of the club". La Gazzetta dello Sport, 10 October 2014. Retrieved on 16 March 2015.

External links