By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – Losing 100-63 against the United States, Italy lost the opportunity to eventually fight for a medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. After scoring 18 points with 5 boards in the big defeat, Simone Fontecchio expressed his disappointment in the mixed zone.
“There’s a few to comment about. They had the perfect game, we never scored”, he started. “We tried to put energy straight from the beginning, even in the third quarter, but they shared the ball more today than in the rest of the tournament. They were perfect from the start, focused: playing against them after a defeat didn’t help”, the Utah Jazz player added.
Then, he went on to speak about the future of the Italian national team. “We are a little bit tired of losing in the Quarter-Finals”, he said about going once again out at this stage of International competition. “But we are among the best eight teams in the world and this must push up to be even better”, Fontecchio added.
“Our last two games are Gigi Datome‘s last two games. For him and for us this is very important. We will approach them with the same energy and desire to compete”, the 27-year-old also said before heading to the locker room.
PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 FIBA World Cup
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