Fabrizio Pugliatti may only be 17 years old, but the U18 Stellazzurra Rome guard hopes to be an inspiration for younger players in his homeland, Venezuela.
Stellazzurra's Venezuela talent Pugliatti thrilled to be 'home' in Italy
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He is thrilled to be taking the first step toward doing that in his other homeland of Italy.
Pugliatti helped Stellazzurra reach the first-place game at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Istanbul, which ultimately resulted in the club getting one of the invitations to the ANGT Finals in Valencia from June 3-6.
"We did a great job in Istanbul. It was a shame we couldn't win the tournament," said Pugliatti, who turned 17 in February and averaged 5.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, a team-high 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals in his first ANGT event. "The ANGT is the biggest stage in Europe. For me, it was a huge step forward. I love to compete and compare myself to other players from all around the world."
Stellazzurra will be appearing at the ANGT Finals for the third time after 2015 and 2018 - the latter of which saw the team reached the ANGT Championship Game. Pugliatti said he cannot wait for the event: "It is another great opportunity for us. We are getting prepared to face this new challenge. We are ready to go to Valencia with all the desire to do our best."
"The ANGT is the biggest stage in Europe. For me, it was a huge step forward."
That desire stems from playing basketball early in the northern Venezuelan city of Valencia, where he battled on the local courts as the youngest of four brothers - the oldest of whom played professionally briefly in Venezuela and Panama.
"When I was a kid, I tried every time to take some inspiration from my older brothers," Pugliatti said. "My challenge was to beat them and get better. My brothers gave me a lot of advice and taught me how to play in a mature way."
Pugliatti said he grew up watching a lot of basketball – both NBA and EuroLeague. His childhood idol was Greivis Vasquez, one of the few Venezuelans to reach the NBA. Pugliatti currently enjoys watching Wade Baldwin IV of FC Bayern Munich and he thinks his own game is similar to Chris Paul in terms of his basketball IQ and passing abilities.
His game was noticed by Venezuelan youth basketball leaders and he was selected to play at the FIBA U14 South American Championship in 2017 when he was still a year younger than most of the players. The event was played in Venezuela and Pugliatti helped the hosts reach the final, where they lost to Brazil.
"It was an event that was streamed and followed a lot in South America. My coach gave me great confidence despite being such a young kid as I was at the time. That opportunity boosted my passion for basketball," said Pugliatti, who had already made a name for himself as the U13 national MVP.
That exposure led to a watershed 2018 for Pugliatti, who received an offer from Stellazzurra to come to Europe and develop his game in Italy. He was just 14 years old when he came to Rome.
"It was very tough at the beginning: a long-distance family-son connection is always very hard. After a few weeks, I got used to it and now Stella is my second family," Pugliatti said. "Stella is a big family. Most players come from different parts of the world. Hence it is easier to get involved with each player living here."
Coming to Italy was actually a bit of coming home for Pugliatti, whose grandparents on his father’s side both migrated from Sicily to Venezuela after World War II. His father was born in Venezuela and returned to Italy for his middle and elementary school years in Sicily before moving back to Venezuela, where he met Pugliatti’s Venezuelan mother.
"My dad is very proud of me. He is excited about my decision to track his roots here in Italy. I message and call him every time I can," said Pugliatti.
There was also a major disappointment for Pugliatti in 2018 when he played at the FIBA U15 South American Championship in Uruguay, where Venezuela lost to Argentina in the third-place game and missed the chance to play at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2019.
"Stella is a big family. Most players come from different parts of the world. Hence it is easier to get involved with each player living here."
"That moment hurt me a lot because we did not achieve the goal to play at U16 Americas. We know we could have done a lot more than we did," said Pugliatti, who averaged 2.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists. "It gave me a lot of energy to work more and improve all the time. I want to be ready if this kind of opportunity shows up in the future."
A major opportunity came on November 22, 2020, when Pugliatti played for Stellazzurra’s team in the SerieA2 second division against Scafati, becoming the youngest Venezuelan to debut in a European professional league.
"It was a blessing and a big responsibility. It was a big moment of joy for me and my family. We are altogether making a huge effort for me to make these things happen, said the youngster, who has averaged 4.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.8 steals in 14 minutes per game in the league this season. Pugliatti’s endeavors are being well documented by media back in Venezuela, which is home to an estimated 2 million people of Italian descent.
"Representing my country is an honor for me. It makes me very proud," he said. And Pugliatti is hoping he can become a role model for youngsters back home: "I want to inspire the young generation of players from Venezuela, demonstrating to them just how big the impact can be if a chance in Europe would show up."
Pugliatti is certainly taking advantage of the opportunity while being "back home".