A history of sport that is inevitably intertwined with war – a constant of life of the last days that the Ukrainians have suddenly come to terms with. A people who decided to resist by also arming civilians: a “call” to which he also answered Alexander “Sasha” Volkov – historic basketball player who is a real institution in Ukraine (in addition to having also held the post of parliamentarian). The former center which is now 57 years old he was one of the protagonists of the victory of the Olympic gold medal of the Soviet Union in Seoul in 1988, then becoming a year later the first player originally from the former Soviet bloc to take the field in the NBA, sharing this primacy with the Lithuanian Sarunas Marciulonis. Volkov was an Atlanta Hawks player for three yearswith whom he played a total of 149 games closed at almost 7 points on average.
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Not only NBA, but also a lot of European basketball, with a season also spent at Viola Reggio Calabria – that of 1992-93, with Charlie Recalcati as coach. Friends with whom he remained in contactso much so that the news of his decision to respond to the appeal of the Ukrainian armed forces was given by the aforementioned Recalcati and Dino Meneghin: they are the Italian friends to whom Volkov sent the photo via WhatsApp in camouflage in which he carries a rifle while patrolling the streets of Kiev. According to what was told by the Gazzetta dello Sport, Volkov in the first days of the bombing had shared his frustration also with his Italian acquaintances: “I can’t believe it, they’re bombing”were his words, before following up with deeds to an unimaginable call to arms only a few weeks ago.
