By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – What’s the best way to celebrate your 200th game with the national team? Well, reaching the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA World Cup for the first time after 25 years could be a pretty good answer, if you ask Gigi Datome.
The experienced 35-year-old small forward, after scoring 11 points with 3/5 from beyond the arc, talked in the mixed zone and express his feelings. “It’s great to be among the best 8 of the world following such a tough group and game. But we deserve it, we took some good shots, a lot didn’t fall in at the beginning but then we stood up with offensive rebounds and defense. It’s a deserved win”, he said.
Then, he took some time to comment on such a great achievement with Italy. “The 200th game? The number is huge, but I think game after game. I’m happy and I need to say thank you to my team because I will play other three games”, Datome added. “If only some shots entered in the first half, we would have been up by 20 points there. We did a good job at remaining calm, at the end shots fell in”, he also commented.
“Everybody gave something: it’s the secret of great teams to stay well and take part of something beautiful like a World Cup. FIBA tried to discract me with the 200 games by gifting me a wonderful picture, but I was so focused on the game. Stefano gave us a huge advantage from two points when being in such danger from three-point range”, Italy’s captain added.
Then, he went on talking about Tonut and Pajola. “They made a great sacrifice in the single coverage on Tremont Waters”, he said. Finally, asked which team he would like to face in the Quarter-Finals, he kept it unclear. “It’s a wonderful feeling, and whoever will be our opponent, it will be very tough. But we want to keep having fun and dreaming”, the 35-year-old said.
PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 FIBA World Cup
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