By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Italy will finish their preparation route for the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 tonight, facing Greece at the Acropolis Tournament in Athens. Then, it will be go time for the event of the summer.
Speaking to FIBA before returning to action with the Azzurri jersey, Simone Fontecchio described the team’s growth over the past few years and what it means to represent Italy.
“Playing for my country, playing for the national team, means a lot to me. It means basically the same for everybody. It means a lot. It’s a mix of pride, respect, and knowing that you’re representing a lot of people at home who are watching you and cheering for you. It’s definitely a huge responsibility,” he said.
“EuroBasket is always different in a lot of ways. There are a lot of teams that are super competitive. Everybody can lose against anybody. It’s super hard to win games, and you gotta increase the intensity and focus every game,” Fontecchio also commented.
The newest Heat player also spoke about the new wave of Italian players on board. “I think this is probably the first year that we have a lot of energy, especially coming from the second unit,” he said.
“A lot ot of young guys, newcomers that come in with the right energy, with a lot of pace, and that can be a strength for us. We have three or four young guys who are really stepping ahead this summer: Momo Diouf, Gabriele Procida, Matteo Spagnolo, Saliou Niang… they’re gonna be very nice to watch,” he added.
Finally, he spoke about Group C. “Our group, I think, is one of the hardest, if not the hardest group in this championship. It’s going to be very hard. Greece is probably the most dangerous team to face in our group,” he said.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA