Identity as a plurality
The quiet courage of Paul Biligha
Born in Italy to Cameroonian parents, Paul grew up straddling two cultures and identities: the Umbrian countryside of Perugia and his family’s origins in Cameroon. He reflects on how basketball became a universal language bridging those worlds.
In Cameroon he discovered the game through a school coach, and in Italy he cut his teeth in the lower leagues—physical, gritty and formative. Those early experiences taught him the value the “intangibles”. Details that don’t show in the box-score and that defines Biligha the player today.
But Paul Biligha is more than a player. He spent time with Overseas to express his thoughts — reflections of a man invested in education and sustainability who highlights a vision for basketball infrastructures that integrate community and environmental responsibility.
“Living between different places trains your curiosity and your ability to suspend judgment.”
His current club Bertram Derthona as a case in point for forward-thinking, the “free port of inclusion” that the playground in Milan where he still trains during summer represents, the immersive experience of wearing his country’s national team jersey while remaining proud of the plurity of his world.
“Off the court, it means recognizing that identity is often a plural word. For example, I feel Italian and Cameroonian: two worlds, one Game.”
Shot by Stefano Ponzi during summer days in Milan and at a Bertram’s game in Tortona, the firsthand experience of Paul Biligha is another editorial exploration of Overseas into the athlete mindsets, cultural crossovers and creative interpretations of basketball.
