Baskin Dream Cup

A national baskin tournament in the Vallo di Diano

The Baskin Dream Cup is a national baskin tournament held in Buonabitacolo, a small town in the province of Salerno overlooking the Vallo di Diano in southern Campania. Promoted by the social cooperative Il Sentiero, the event held its first edition in June 2025 with a clear goal: to bring an event capable of letting athletes with and without disabilities play together to an inland area often far from major sports circuits.

The event is held under the patronage of EISI (Italian Inclusive Sports Body) and the CIP (Italian Paralympic Committee), and is part of the broader program of cultural and sports services activated in Buonabitacolo thanks to PNRR funding.

What is baskin

Baskin—a portmanteau of "basket" and "integrated"—is a team sport inspired by basketball but designed from the outset to be inclusive. Players with and without disabilities play on the same team, each with a numbered role that defines their specific tasks and rules. In addition to traditional hoops, two lower side hoops are added, and the regulations include provisions that allow everyone to influence the outcome. It is therefore not a demonstration activity, but a true competitive movement with championships, referees, and national finals.

The teams and the format

The first edition brought together four teams from different regions:

• Eureka Baskin Monza (Lombardy)
• Baskinsieme Napoli (Campania)
• Ischia Baskin (Campania)
• Il Sentiero Baskin, the home team

The tournament is spread over three days, with group stage matches and a final. In 2025, the trophy went to Eureka Baskin Monza, who defeated Baskinsieme Napoli in the final; after the matches, the mayor of Buonabitacolo, Giancarlo Guercio, awarded all participating athletes. The testimonial for the edition was Valerio Amoroso, a former Serie A and Italian national basketball team player, who made his debut in baskin in the number 5 role.

Il Sentiero Baskin, a team that is already a social project

The home team was founded in November 2021 and is the first baskin team in the province of Salerno. The roster brings together guests from the "La Bottega dell'Orefice" facility in Sala Consilina, unaccompanied foreign minors welcomed in the SAI projects of Padula and Montesano sulla Marcellana, players from the Polisportiva Valdiano, and local families. Led by Annalia Cutolo, it competes in the Campania regional championship and finished in second place in 2024. The group is also the subject of a sociological study by the CNR, directed by Paolo Landri, on so-called "generative welfare."

More than just matches

The Baskin Dream Cup is designed as a three-day welcoming event rather than a simple competition. In 2025, the organizers took teams and staff to visit the Pertosa-Auletta Caves, one of the most famous natural attractions in the Vallo di Diano, and the evenings concluded with music, dancing, and social moments among athletes, staff, and families.

Buonabitacolo and the Vallo di Diano

Buonabitacolo has just over two thousand inhabitants and is located in the Vallo di Diano, the wide plain of southern Campania enclosed between the Maddalena mountains and the hills of the inner Cilento, near the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. It is an area where the Certosa di San Lorenzo in Padula, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Pertosa-Auletta caves coexist with villages like Teggiano and Sala Consilina. For a town of this size, hosting a national tournament is far from ordinary, which is one of the reasons why the event received extensive coverage in the Salerno press.

2026 Edition: information being updated

At present, the organizers have not yet released dates or a program for a second edition. The first was held on the first weekend of June, a period that remains the most likely reference. For updates, it is best to follow the channels of the Il Sentiero cooperative and the local Vallo di Diano press.