By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The mayor of Reggio Emilia, Luca Vecchi, announced that the new square in front of Via Guasco, where the basketball gym is located, will be named after Kobe Bryant.
“Kobe was one of us: here, and in the city playgrounds, he organized games with athletes older than himself, with schoolmates. While his father was a star in the basketball main team, Kobe grew up in the youth sector of Pallacanestro Reggiana. His smile, his love for basketball entered inside us and a bit of Reggio Emilia had entered inside him forever, as he had told us a few years ago returning to our city, which he called “home”. Rest in peace Kobe, Reggio Emilia will not forget you,” he wrote via Facebook.
Kobe spent a part of his childhood in Italy when his father Joe moved there during his playing career. He also had a two-year stint in Reggio Emilia (1989-91) from which Kobe holds many dear memories and was very fond of the city.