Olbia is best known for its port, its bays and the road to the Costa Smeralda. In the colder months there is another side to the city, played indoors on parquet. Santa Croce Olbia is the local basketball club, founded in 1970, and it has one of the most remarkable stories in Sardinian sport: it is where Luigi “Gigi” Datome, later a EuroLeague champion, first learned the game.
Santa Croce Olbia at a glance
Founded: 1970
Best-known result: Italian Under-14 champions in 2002
Most famous alumnus: Gigi Datome
Senior team, 2026/27: Divisione Regionale 1 (Sardinia)
Address supplied for this article: Palasport Roberto Datome, Via Civitavecchia 46, 07026 Olbia
More than fifty years of community basketball
For over half a century the club has been part of everyday life in Olbia. It is a place where children come after school, parents gather in the stands and friendships outlast any season. Like many small clubs in Italy, it has always been about more than results, and generations of young players from the city learned the game here.
A family affair: the Datomes
One of those families was the Datome family. Sergio Datome owned a hotel in Olbia, but his real passion was basketball. He played in Sardinia’s minor leagues, where, the story goes, he earned the nickname “33” for the number of points he scored more than once. He later took the helm of Santa Croce. Sergio passed away in August 2024, and for many in Olbia his name remains closely tied to the club.
His two sons, Tullio and Luigi, practically grew up on the court. Free time meant the gym and weekends meant games.
Luigi Datome on growing up with the game
“I can’t remember my first basketball practice, because basketball has always been part of my life, of my family.”
2002: the year a small club beat the giants
At the start of the 2000s, Santa Croce brought in an experienced coach, Piero Pasini, to lead a very promising youth team. To make it work, the young players trained in Olbia, in Sassari or somewhere in between, as teams from the area joined forces.
In 2002 the effort paid off: the team won the Italian Under-14 championship. In the semifinal they beat Olimpia Milano, and in the final, played in Bormio, they beat Biella. For a club from a small city on an island, it was an extraordinary achievement.
The tallest, most talented and most determined player was Gigi Datome. Among his teammates was Riccardo Fois, who went on to build a career as a coach at the highest level.
From Olbia to the world
It soon became clear that Gigi was outgrowing Olbia. At the Under-16 European Championship he was the top scorer of the whole tournament, and Italy’s biggest clubs wanted him. In 2003, aged fifteen, he moved to Siena, and his mother went with him so he would not be alone so far from home. That same year he made his Serie A debut, a few weeks before his sixteenth birthday.
His career went on to include:
Years with Virtus Roma, where he was named league MVP
Two seasons in the NBA, with the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics
A EuroLeague title with Fenerbahçe in Istanbul in 2017
More than 200 games for the Italian national team, many as captain
The 2023 Italian championship with Olimpia Milano, the club his youth team had beaten in 2002, which ended his playing career
Why he wore number 70
For most of his career Gigi wore number 13. In Boston that number was not available, so he chose 70, the year Santa Croce was founded. The number became his signature and a small tribute to his hometown club. “Everything started from my island, from Olbia, from Santa Croce,” he once said. Even in his book he calls his father babbo, the Sardinian word, rather than papà.
Santa Croce today
In the 2026/27 season the senior team plays in Sardinia’s Divisione Regionale 1 and opened the season with a home win over Alghero Academy. The youth sector continues to teach the game to the next generation of Olbia’s children. Not every young player will become a EuroLeague champion, but each plays in the same club where a legend once took his first shots.
Visitor tip: catching a home game
If you are in Olbia between autumn and spring, a Santa Croce home game is a local, friendly way to see another side of the city. Check the club’s social media pages for the current schedule. The address supplied for this article is the Palasport Roberto Datome on Via Civitavecchia 46, but confirm the venue for any given fixture with the club before you go.
For more ideas on spending time in town, see our guide to why Olbia works as a Sardinian base, or the winter-season ice skating rink in Piazza Crispi. If you are planning a longer stay in Gallura, our Rental12 ecosystem can help with the practical side.
