Meet Victoria Vikes basketball player, Oak Bay alum Diego Maffia
VICTORIA, British Columbia — Diego Maffia has been a local basketball legend since his high school days with the Oak Bay High Bays. During the 2019 Western Canada Basketball Tournament Diego scored a record breaking 96 points against Edmonton’s Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds. Incredible. 96 points!
Now 21 and in his third season with University of Victoria Men’s Basketball Vikes, Maffia continues to shoot the lights out, leading the team in scoring and continuing to improve all other parts of his game.
Born in Brazil, Diego moved to Oak Bay in 2015 and tried out for the Bays’ perennial powerhouse basketball team. Soccer was Maffia’s sport in Brazil, and he didn’t make the Bays basketball team.
Diego’s mother and father both played basketball for Lethbridge University, his father so well that he’s in the school’s Hall of Fame. Diego’s dad stayed in Brazel and continues his job as director for an international school while Maffia’s mother brought Diego and Lucas, his younger brother to Canada. Lucas is 19 now and plays volleyball for Camoson College, as older brother Diego leads the UVic Vikes to a repeat of last year’s Canada West Championship and possible National Championship.
“After graduating from Oak Bay High, I made the decision to stay home and play for the Vikes. It’s a great fit,” Maffia explained from his family home in Oak Bay “I’ve recently changed my major to Health and Recreation with a goal of maybe teaching after a pro career playing basketball in Europe. I’d love to visit Europe and gain some independence from my very supportive family…but I’ve got three more years at UVic to figure it out.”
Maffia is well on his way to a professional basketball career in Europe. In his first year at UVic, he made the conference all-rookie all star team. Last season he was chosen to the Canada West second team all-stars while leading the Vikes with a 17.2 points/game average and 81 assists in their Canada West Championship season. He also hauled in 6.1 rebounds/game and was second on the team with 31 steals.
After an off-season in the weight room putting ten pounds on his still-growing 6′ 1′ frame and playing from May-August with Vikes Nation AAU team in games from Vancouver to Las Vegas, Maffia is averaging 23 points/game and taking on a bigger leadership role with a young Vikes team ranked number two in the nation with an 8 win two loss record at the Christmas break.
“I’m really enjoying this year. I’m just trying to enjoy the present. It goes by quickly,” Diego explained. Before you know it, university is over.”
Diego and this year’s Vikes are shooting a torrid 47% from the field while scoring over 94 points on average in the first ten games of the season. Mark your calendar for this year’s CanWest Championship beginning Feb. 17-18, CanWest Semi-finals Feb. 25 and CanWest Finals on March 4. This year’s U Sports Nationals are scheduled for Antigonish, Nova Scotia March 9-12. There is a good chance that Oak Bay’s Diego Maffia and the UVic Vikes will come out on top.
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