Mt. Pleasant basketball games to benefit Dom Giallonardo scholarships

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, December 15, 2023 | 1:58 PM

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Mt. Pleasant is hosting a basketball tripleheader Friday night to raise money for a scholarship in the name of late Vikings’ baseball and basketball player Dom Giallonardo.

The Vikings will host Southmoreland. The junior varsity boys will play at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity teams — girls at 6:30 and the boys at 8.

Proceeds will go to the Dom Giallonardo Memorial Scholarship and a Mt. Pleasant senior boy and girl who play two sports and maintain a 2.0 grade-point average will receive a scholarship.

Dom Giallonardo died in 2020 after a six-year battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma. He twice rallied to defeat the illness and became an inspirational story.

A WPIAL Courage Award recipient, he was a 2019 Mt. Pleasant grad who went on to Pitt-Greensburg.

Dante Giallonardo, Dom’s brother, is a senior on this year’s Mt. Pleasant basketball team. He missed last season with an injury.

“I think there’s a lot of emotion tied into this game just because it’s Southmoreland and because it’s to honor Dante’s brother,” Mt. Pleasant first-year boys coach Annie Malkowiak said. “I never knew Dante’s brother and I’m still learning Dante but of course, as with any kid that plays for me I want nothing but the best for him and my hopes are that this night can be special and many ways for Dante, his family and our team.

“You can see (the Giallonardos) are an amazing family. I feel for them and any parent that had to suffer through the loss of a child. I know how special of a kid Dante is and has been for me so I can only imagine just how great his brother was because I know Dante looked up to him, and his brother was his hero.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant, Southmoreland