By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Seeking for a spot in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, the Italian national team may have a reinforcement under the rim. Drew Eubanks is indeed a candidate to join Gianmarco Pozzecco’s squad.
Interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 27-year-old American, who has Italian ancestors and is under examination by bureaucracy to ultimate the naturalization process, admitted his desire. “I would certainly like to be able to play in the Olympic Games”, he commented.
Potentially sharing the court with former Golden State Warriors guard Nico Mannion, with whom he trains “often together in the off-season”, Drew Eubanks came back to the moment when he first found out about the opportunity.
“After doing some research, I found out I had Italian ancestors, so my agent contacted the Federation. I don’t know who in the family is Italian or where he comes from but I’m working on the paperwork to get the passport”, he added.
In the NBA since 2018, he played four years between the San Antonio Spurs and the Austin Spurs in the G-League, moving to Portland for the 2022-23 season. Last summer, he signed with the Phoenix Suns, where he has been averaging 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this year.
After yesterday’s official draw, the Italian national team would face Serbia, Team USA, and South Sudan in Paris 2024. First, however, Italy has to overcome the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico, facing the hosts and Bahrain first, and eventually two between Mexico, Ivory Coast, and Lithuania.
The stage is set for #Paris2024
Group A is the #Olympics Group of Death pic.twitter.com/a2sGlOLhnB
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) March 19, 2024
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