By John Rammas / irammas@eurohoops.net
Berlin, Germany – Italy lost to France in a heartbreaking way, losing the opportunity to reach the EuroBasket semifinal, a stage that the Azzurri missed since 2003. Gigi Datome, captain of the team, played as a veteran, helping Gianmarco Pozzecco’s squad with 12 points and 4/9 from the perimeter. In the mixed zone, he expressed his frustration.
First, he defended Simone Fontecchio, who missed two crucial free throws at the end of the regular time: “You never miss a game from the last possession, it’s a 40 minutes game. Without Simone, we would not be here today. Simone made an incredible EuroBasket and a great game tonight. Those free throws are part of the game. If we could have made it to the last defense, nobody would remember them. Nobody has to blame Simone for those free throws“.
“I don’t think you lose because of the referees, because you always make mistakes. We won against Serbia but there were some strange calls on that game as well, not on this level I think”, he added about the 93-85 loss.
Gigi Datome hopes that Italy can finally manage to come back to the Top 4 from EuroBasket 2025: “Congratulations to France, they deserve the win. We must think about our mistakes first, and hopefully, be back on the same stage as the last four times in a row. Maybe next time we’ll have the chance to go through, we deserve it. We belong to this level”.
“We have to think about what we did and didn’t do. Today everyone will be sad and frustrated, but from tomorrow we have to be proud of ourselves because we show that we belong to the level of Serbia and France, which are the best teams in the world”, he proudly concluded.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL