Nicholas Melli is no longer content with applause

The words of Nicolo Melli

One of Italbasket’s best players, Nicolò Melli, spoke to “Il Resto del Carlino” about the experience of this Eurobasket. The Olimpia Milano forward commented on the spirit with which he left the tournament: “The same spirit with which I left the Olympics a year ago: I take away the pride of having been part of an exceptional group. Although after 102 appearances in the Azzurri, more than emotions and compliments I would have preferred a medal.” The reference is to Tokyo 2020 when even there the national team went out against France also in the quarterfinals.

On his biggest regret, the former New Orleans Pellicans said, “Not winning with France. Looking at the whole European journey, the loss to Ukraine: winning that game would have allowed us to go to the other side of the scoreboard and maybe have a smoother path. Yet, we were going to go to the semifinals after beating Serbia and France.” And on satisfaction, he said, “You know me well and you know that my satisfaction comes through the team: having played a good European Championship, but having gone out in the quarterfinals only half satisfies me. I would have been happier if I had helped the national team win a medal.”