Macao’s pro basketball team, the Black Bears, is set to welcome Malta-born player Samuel Deguara as its newest member, Times of Malta reports. The move comes off the player’s tenure with the Taiwan Mustangs, who he helped secure the 4th leg title of the Asian Tournament.
At 7-foot-6.5 inches (2.30 metres), Deguara is taller than any current NBA player and ranks among the tallest all time players of basketball.
He started his basketball career in the Italian youth ranks, going on to play for teams in both Europe and North America before heading to Southeast Asia in the late 2010s, where he played for Malaysian, Thai and Philippine teams.
He signed with Taiwan’s TaiwanBeer HeroBears in March 2022, then the Tainan TSG GhostHawks in August 2022. In June 2023, Deguara shifted to Hong Hong to play with the Hong Kong Bulls in China’s National Basketball League. He returned to the Ghosthawks in September that year, before signing with the Mustangs.
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The Macau Black Bears confirmed they had signed Deguara on social media on Thursday. The team is preparing for the upcoming East Asia Super League (EASL) campaign, kicking off next month.
This will be the team’s EASL debut. The Black Bears are in Group B of the 2024 to 2025 season’s group stage, meaning that they will face off teams that include Japan’s Ryukyu Golden Kings, South Korea’s Busan KCC Egis, Taiwan’s New Taipei Kings and the Philippine’s San Miguel Beermen.
