The last match of Bruno Cerella, the Argentinian-Milan who has a second life ready after basketball: “My social projects for the kids of the world”

The countdown has almost reached zero, the farewell match, shared with his friend and partner Thomas Marinois already scheduled for June 27th: Bruno Cerella he is enjoying every minute that separates him from the end of his basketball career that began in Bahia Blanca and continued, for 20 years, in Italy, from C-2 to championships. In his history, also four seasons, two Italian titles, two Italian Cups, a Super Cup and the Euroleague playoffs won with Olimpia. At Armani, Bruno’s support and positive vibrations from the public will remain indelible every time he entered the pitch, perhaps just for a few minutes, giving his all, on every ball, in every situation.

Yesterday Cerella played his last career match in Treviglio, the team lost the first round of the A 2 playoffs against Fortitudo, but at the sports hall in Bologna many of Cerella’s friends wanted to be there to greet him and applaud his basket midfield on the siren.

And playing in Treviglio after 5 winning seasons in Venice, his relationship with Milan is even closer. It is in this city that Cerella has decided to live, where she has already undertaken a post-basketball activity and her charity association operates, Slums Dunk. «I felt very comfortable here – he says –, laying the foundations in a city like Milan I think was the right thing, not only for the human relationships and friends who make me feel at home, but also for the many opportunities it offers and that I created myself. I wanted to be able to choose where to live at the end of my career, to have a plan B that would give me satisfaction and emotional balance.”

Cerella knows Milan well: «I travel around it a lot, both for my work in residential development, which is my core business, and for social projects. The Slums Dunk headquarters is in front of the Bosco Verticale, our playground in Viale Stelvio is a social point of reference and a neighborhood project in which we are investing heavily to promote the values ​​of sport through our initiatives.”

But Slums Dunk, born in 2013 after a trip to Africa with Marino, now operates on multiple continents: «We are present in Kenya, Zambia, Cambodia, Argentina. The most difficult thing is being able to consolidate projects in areas where we are not present, knowing how to choose reliable local partners for the part relating to school education and the health of children”. Bruno’s bond with the Olimpia public is still tangible every time he shows up at the Forum as a spectator: «Being appreciated by people for the work you do makes you feel satisfied. I left the building every time with a smile inside me because I had received so much love and support from the fans. Everywhere I played, they appreciated my competitive spirit and my ability to interpret my role correctly within a great team, with great talented players.”

After Cerella, only Pippo Ricci aroused the same spontaneous support from the fans: « I see myself in him, because he has a positive impact regardless of how much he plays. Many players need many possessions and many minutes to be able to express their best basketball. However, within the big teams, I think it is valuable for a coach to be someone who makes a tangible contribution even without a certain playing time. It’s very difficult to do it, it’s a mental issue.” 10 years have passed since Bruno’s Olimpia brought the scudetto back to Milan after 18 seasons, winning the Euroleague playoffs. Subsequently, few other Armanis gave the same emotions: «I don’t make comparisons, I’m biased. I can only say that we have never entered the pitch convinced that we couldn’t beat an opponent. I had a lot of fun.”