Eurobasket, Gianmarco Pozzecco asks only one thing of the Azzurri

Pozzecco asks one thing of the national team

The coach of the Italian national basketball team, Gianmarco Pozzecco, during the inauguration of the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 fan zone, told what he tried to convey to his players, from day one: “The first thing I tried to do, from the first day in Pinzolo, when we started the gathering, is to make these 12 wonderful guys, whom I am lucky enough to coach, understand how great it is then to win with the national team. These are boys who have already achieved great success in their careers but unfortunately have failed to reap what they sowed and therefore have never experienced the thrill of winning with the blue jersey attached to their skin.””

“It will not be easy, it is an extremely competitive European Championship, probably the most difficult ever. It won’t be easy but I want these guys to live this dream,” the former point guard continued.

Then Pozzecco concluded, emphasizing the one thing he asks of the Italian national team: “In a competition like this, there are so many nations that have highly competitive rosters, that will have a chance to get to the bottom. We don’t worry about all that, we will play the European Championship game by game. The only thing I have asked of my players, and I will continue to ask until the end of the European Championship, is that they live basketball with great passion, for a very simple reason: if 15 children see you playing, they stop playing basketball, but if they see you playing with passion, they perceive it and probably fall in love with the sport.”