The Venezuelan basketball player Garly Sojo, who participated this year in the World Cup held in Asia, died this Friday in Caracas at the age of 24, reported sports authorities of the Caribbean country.
The Venezuelan Basketball Federation (FVB) confirmed the news through X (formerly Twitter), where it recalled that the young man, who won a silver medal at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, was part of the national team.
"Garly accompanied us in the 2021 Olympic Qualifiers, in the World Cup qualifiers, in the 2023 World Cup and in the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games," says the FVB statement, in which Sojo is described as an "extraordinary human being." with great projection in basketball".
Likewise, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) mourned the death of the young man, whom it considered a "promising forward" who closed his participation in the World Cup - played in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia - with an average of 12.4 points.
For his part, the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, published a message of "solidarity and support for the family, friends and inhabitants" of Caricuao, the Caracas neighborhood where the athlete, known in the country as "The Pearl", lived and died. ".
Several football clubs, baseball teams, sports federations and basketball players have published messages of condolences on social networks, many of which agree on the "unexpected" nature of the event.
Although the authorities have not explained the cause of death, local media claim that it was a fatal epileptic episode in the early morning hours.
