Samuel Deguara
Samuel Deguara is a Maltese professional basketball player for the Macau Black Bears of the East Asia Super League.
Professional career
Beginnings in Italy
Deguara began his professional career after signing a nine-year contract with Benetton Treviso, breaking through the club's youth ranks. After three years, Deguara was loaned to fellow Italian sides BVO Caorle and CUS Bari Pallacanestro over the course of the next two years. The following season, he played for Pallacanestro Reggiana in the Serie A, playing a single game against Armani Milano.Malta
After an injury-plagued spell in Italy, Deguara decided to return to his native Malta, signing up for BUPA Luxol for the 2013–2014 season. It was a successful stint for Deguara, where he averaged 29.5 points and 21.4 rebounds per game.Spain
After his stint in his native country, Deguara set out to Spain to continue his basketball career. He first played for Viten Getafe, scoring 5 points and 6 rebounds in 10 minutes of action. After Getafe, Deguara continued his stint in Spain, playing for Fuenlabrada and also for its reserve team. Deguara also played for Ferrol, where he tallied 17 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks in his debut and averaged 15.0 points and 11.0 rebounds a game.North America
Deguara continued his basketball career in America, where he was selected 98th overall in the sixth round by the Erie Bayhawks in the 2015 NBA Development League Draft. However, Deguara did not play a single game for the BayHawks.Deguara was then signed by newly-formed NBL Canada side Niagara River Lions. Despite his much-publicized and highly hyped signing with the Canadian club, he was largely absent from the team's debut campaign in the NBLC, playing in only 3 games for a total of 7 minutes, scoring only 2 points in all games.
Lithuania
Deguara signed a contract with Lithuanian side BC Šilutė, playing in the Lithuanian second tier, the NKL.Return to Malta
Deguara returned to his native Malta for the second time, again playing for BUPA Luxol. He led the club to its 13th Maltese championship, where they swept fellow Maltese club Floriana MCP Car Parks in a best-of-five series.Southeast Asia
Deguara headed to Asia for the first time in his career, where he signed with Malaysian NBL side Farmcochem, winning the Malaysia Pro League title in his only season with the club, scoring 24 points and 24 rebounds in the championship game against the KL Dragons.Shortly after his stint in Malaysia, Deguara was signed by another Southeast Asian club, PEA, of Thailand.
In January 2018, Deguara was signed by another Thai club and ASEAN Basketball League side Mono Vampire, where he replaced Reggie Johnson, who left the team for personal reasons.
Deguara returned to the Southeast Asian league with San Miguel Alab Pilipinas, replacing Adrian Forbes as the team's third import.
Taiwan
On 21 March 2022, Deguara signed with the TaiwanBeer HeroBears of the T1 League. On 9 August, Deguara signed with the Tainan TSG GhostHawks of the T1 League.Hong Kong
On 14 June 2023, Deguara signed with the Hong Kong Bulls of the National Basketball League.Return to Taiwan
On 8 September 2023, Deguara re-signed with the Tainan TSG GhostHawks. On 27 January 2024, the Tainan TSG GhostHawks terminated the contract relationship with Deguara.Macau
On 13 September 2024, Deguara signed with the Macau Black Bears of the East Asia Super League for the 2024–25 season.The Asian Tournament
He played for Taiwan Mustangs and Aces during the 2024 and 2025 editions.Zamboanga Valientes
He played for Zamboanga Valientes during the 34th edition of the Dubai Basketball Championship, and the Governor Hofer Invitational Basketball Championship in Zamboanga Sibugay.National team career
Deguara is the tallest player on the Malta national basketball team, and has been in the national set-up since he was 14. Deguara was also part of the Malta national team that won the Division C of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship on home soil in 2009, where he averaged 27.2 points and 23.8 rebounds per game. Deguara also played for the medal-winning teams of Malta that took part in the 2010, 2012 and 2014 European Championships for Small Countries, winning bronze, another bronze and silver medals, respectively, in these events.In 2018, he helped Malta to win the tournament and achieved the MVP title despite only averaging 17.9 minutes of playtime per game.