The world of Sardinian basketball mourns the passing of Claudio Velluti . Born in Cagliari on 15 April 1939, he was one of the most important players in the history of the island's segmented ball, as well as the first Sardinian to make his debut with the Italian national team jersey in 1959.
Raised in the ranks of Olimpia Cagliari, in 1959 he moved to the "Scarpette Rosse" of Olimpia Milano under Simmenthal, winning two Scudetti in 1960 and 1962 under the guidance of Cesare Rubini (66 games with 371 points). Furthermore, between 1959 and 1963 he made 31 appearances for the Azzurri, scoring 51 points. In the following years he was one of the great architects of Brill Cagliari's epic in the Serie A championship.
Equipped with extraordinary athletic qualities, Velluti also excelled in the high jump, representing the national team on two different occasions (in Oslo against Sweden and Yugoslavia) and coming close to qualifying for the 1960 Rome Olympics.
After basketball he began a brilliant professional career, which led him to become an orthopedic head doctor and university professor.
His sons Marco and Simone were excellent basketball players, also protagonists in the national championships.
