Maltese youngster Samuel Deguara (photo) has left a good impression during a brief appearance for the Under 19 team in the recent ‘Citta di Roma’ tournament.

Deguara was one of the players selected to form part of the Benetton U-19 squad for this event. Unfortunately he only played 26 minutes of the first match and had to forfeit his place in the other matches as he was suffering from a bout of flu.

Benetton went on to finish second in the tournament, losing the final against Partizan Belgrade by the score of 71-66.

Coach Fabio Corbani was very satisfied with his squad’s performances and added that he was happy for Deguara with whom the club was working very hard since the start of the season. Corbani said he was impressed with Deguara’s performance. “He was very active and incisive both in attack and in defence. After his initial difficulties, this was a victory for all of us, seeing that his sacrifices in the past months are now bearing the desired fruit. It was a pity that the flu did not allow him to take part except in those 26 minutes of the first match,” said the coach.