Where Are They Now - Pablo Bertone - Florida Atlantic University Athletics

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Pablo Bertone left his native Argentina at 18 years old for nights like Nov. 30, 2011.

Then a Florida Atlantic University sophomore, Bertone faced the biggest challenge of his basketball career: a game against nationally- ranked Kansas, in Allen Fieldhouse, with thousands of Jayhawk fans lining the stands.

The heightened stage didn't faze him.

Bertone scored 17 points, adding two steals and three blocks. The 6-4 guard also grabbed 12 rebounds – over a frontcourt featuring future NBA players Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey.

"I had a monster game there," Bertone said. "And all of a sudden – I didn't even have a Twitter – but Twitter was blowing up with mentions of my name."

The hype transcended borders. Bertone appeared on an Argentinian SportsCenter telecast, with family and friends watching and flooding his phone with congratulatory messages.

Bertone reached his "breakout point" against Kansas. But he wasn't satisfied yet. Bertone came to the United States in 2008 to eventually play pro basketball; games like that helped the cause, but he needed many more.

"That helped build my confidence," Bertone said, "and I never looked back."

Bertone's senior year epitomized that.

Many of FAU's top scorers left prior to the 2013-14 season, thrusting Bertone into a bigger offensive role. He responded by doubling his scoring average – from 9.3 as a junior to 18.9 as a senior.

"There were no excuses," Bertone said. "It was me; it was my last year."

Bertone turned himself into a legitimate pro prospect. He trained alongside future lottery picks Joel Embiid, Marcus Smart and Jabari Parker that summer, inching closer than ever to his NBA dreams.

But NBA teams assumed Bertone wanted to play internationally, so they overlooked him.

"September came along and I had zero offers." Bertone said, repeating the number three times for emphasis. "So all that you had worked for your entire life, and finally you're there – I was at the peak of my career – my stock was really high, and I had to start from scratch, pretty much."

With the season starting in October, Bertone had little time to find a team. Most rosters – both domestic and abroad – were full.

BTTB Mallorca-Palma's, however, wasn't.

The Spanish club gave Bertone his first professional contract, but he was still "really angry." After dominating his senior year at FAU, Bertone thought he should be in Liga ACB, the country's first-division basketball league – BTTB-Mallorca-Palma played in LEB Gold in the second division.

"It was a year that I really wanted to finish quick and move up to where I belong," Bertone said of the 2014-15 season. "So, I wasn't really living in the present."

Basketball, the game Bertone loved for as long as he can remember, began feeling like a job. He knew exactly how to change that: returning to Argentina.

"I had to come back to my roots," Bertone said, "and find that love for the game again."

Bertone signed with Lanus, a Buenos Aires-based first-division team, in 2015. He impressed immediately, averaging 11 points per game en route to the Newcomer of the Year award.

The following year Bertone signed with Instituto Cordoba, another first-division Argentinian team. This one, however, was located even closer to home – less than a two-hour drive from Arroyito, where most of his family and friends still lived.

Bertone played in front of over 50 loved ones every game in Cordoba. That experience rejuvenated his passion for basketball.

"That's when I was like, 'OK, now I really have that mindset again, that mental strength to go back to Europe and focus 100% on my career and basketball,'" Bertone said.

That brought Bertone to Italy, where he played from 2017 to '19.

Bertone enjoyed his best pro season in 2018 for Derthona Tortona, a second-division Italian team; he averaged career highs in points (15.7), rebounds (3.7), assists (3.5) and 3-point percentage (44%).

After the 2019 season, Bertone returned to the team he started his professional career with: BTTB Mallorca-Palma.

Bertone's not the same player he was in 2014, though. Intermittent fasting – limiting the hours he eats – along with cutting red meat and inflammatory foods from his diet has Bertone feeling "younger than ever" physically. Mentally, however, he's grown even more.

"The first year [in Mallorca] I had a different mindset," Bertone said. "I was thinking a lot about myself because I knew the team didn't have any aspirations, didn't have any budget to move up. But now it's different. The ambition is real. They have the budget, the facilities – everything that's needed to be in the top league. And I'm not thinking about myself, selfishly anymore. Obviously, I want to do my best, but I want the team to win and move up."

Bertone isn't trying to play his way out of Mallorca anymore. He "fell in love" with the island, bought a house there last summer, and wants to live there for the foreseeable future.

His new goal: carrying BTTB Mallorca-Palma to the ACB for the first time ever, justifying their belief in him five years ago.

"Everyone would love to play here, would pay to play here," Bertone said. "So, being able to come back full circle where the project is at another stage, ready to take off, and they still believe in me again, because of what I did my first year... it's amazing."

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Where Are They Now - Pablo Bertone

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Where Are They Now - Pablo Bertone

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