Gianmarco Pozzecco spoke after the third-round match of the FIBA World Cup, in which Italy defeated the Philippines by 90:83.
Italy didn’t allow any surprises and the risk of being eliminated in the first phase. With a confident performance, they outplayed the hosts and secured a spot in the next phase. After the match against the Philippines.
“First and foremost, I would like to congratulate the Philippines coach and the whole team. You did a fantastic job, not only today but throughout the entire FIBA World Cup. You lost three games, but you fought, and you should be proud. Clarkson is a true star. He surprised me because he was engaged and played with a lot of emotions. I love my basketball players. After the game with the Dominican Republic, I wanted to jump out of the window from the 37th floor of the hotel.
Fortunately, the window couldn’t be opened. Even if I had jumped, someone from the Philippines would surely have saved me, or I would have landed on cars given the traffic. I suffered a lot, but we have an incredible 12 basketball players. Love them all, as well as the coaching staff. I have the best president, who treated me like a son. I am proud because the group wasn’t easy. We won 11 out of the last 12 games.”
The Head coach of Italy commented on the upcoming match, in which his team will face Serbia.
“This win gives us a lot of confidence. We will benefit from a slightly longer rest, as some players played quite a bit today. We will try to improve the things that didn’t work as we wanted, and we had to play defense differently because Clarkson is a specific basketball player.
We’ve played quite tactically so far, which I don’t like. Against Serbia, we will play normal basketball. They are a great team. First, we will rest for a day, have a few beers, and then we will think about the match” said Pozzecco.
In the next round, Italy will face Serbia, which will be a rematch of the Round of 16 at the EuroBasket 2022, where the Italians came out victorious.