Luka Bašić and Frano Kašić are Croats who have won gold in the EUG 2016 volleyball tournament as part of the team from Nice Sophia Antipolis University. Thus, they perfectly embody the spirit of the European Universities Games: it’s a competition where participants compete for their universities, not their countries. Instead of national anthems, the academic anthem Gaudeamus Igitur is played before medal ceremonies.
‘Since my mom and dad are volleyball players, it did not surprise anyone that I also chose volleyball. I was born in France, where my parents went to play volleyball, but ever since I was a child, I have spent every summer with my cousins in Croatia. After the Games, I am staying at the seaside for three weeks, and then I am going back for the preparations for the next season,’ said Luka Bašić, who plays volleyball in Cannes and Nice, where he studies sport.
His mom is from Poreč, and dad from Banja Luka. They met when they had played in the volleyball club Mladost from Zagreb, right here where the EUG 2016 have taken place.
Frano Kašić studies engineering, and his Croatian-French story is quite similar. His dad is from Sisak, and, when he was younger, he had played volleyball with Luka’s dad at Bojan Stranić Volleyball Hall. Although their parents knew each other, the two of them only met two years ago.
‘I met Luka in Montpellier, and now we are thrilled to have won gold in Croatia together. These are our first European Universities Games, and we are very happy to have stayed here. Our colleagues are thrilled with the organization and the reception at the European Universities Games and with their stay in Croatia; we told them a lot about the country,’ said Frano Kašić.
We wish the boys a nice vacation, a safe journey home and successful preparations for new victories in the next season.
