WATCH: Malta’s Tallest Man Wows Thailand’s Basketball Fans With Insane Shot
At 7-foot-5, Samuel Deguara is the tallest Maltese person, and he is using his height to his advantage to forge a successful career in basketball at the other end of the world.
Deguara inspired Thai club Mono Vampire to a victory against Vietnamese side Saigon Heat last night, finishing as his team’s top scorer. One moment in the game stood out for the Maltese giant. With only seconds to go to the end of the first quarter, Deguara stole possession of the ball in his own half and brazenly threw it from almost the full length of the court for a brilliant finish which earned his team three points.
Maltese people are not exactly renowned for their strapping statures and yet Deguara, 26, has managed to break the mould. Not only is he the tallest Maltese person but he is also the joint fourth tallest basketball player in the world.
Deguara has had an up-and-down basketball career so far. Starting out from Italy, he moved back to Malta to sign for BUPO Luxol for the 2013-2014 season, and then on to Spain with professional club Balancesto Fuenlabrada.
He then moved to North America, where he had unsuccessful stints with US club Erie Bayhawks and Canadian club Niagara River Lions. He returned to Malta to play for BUPA Luxol in 2017 and then decided to move eastwards – first to the Lithuanian second division and then on to clubs in Malaysia and Thailand.
From the looks of things, it would appear as though the Maltese giant’s career is finally taking off…