Italbasket, Gianmarco Pozzecco speaks out on Marco Belinelli and Daniel Hackett

Gianmarco Pozzecco explains the selection criteria

Among the topics touched upon by Gianmarco Pozzecco in the interview published Tuesday in the print edition of ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport,’ there was no shortage of passages on players out, for one reason or another, from the Azzurri’s roster, including Danilo Gallinari, currently inactive due to a serious injury, and the two virtussini Marco Belinelli and Daniel Hackett.

“The national team is not mine,” explained the ‘Poz,’ “It is a creature of Gianni Petrucci, an executive of the highest level, and of the players (…). I have no preclusions for anyone: maximum respect for everyone, even for those I do not call. I do not have to call the 12 best players but those who will create the best possible team. That is why I was excluded from Italy for the 1999 European Championship.”

Gianmarco Pozzecco has been the technical commissioner of the Italian national basketball team since June 2, 2022. At the helm of the Azzurri, he earned a place among the top eight at Eurobasket, losing qualification to the semifinals only in overtime of the quarterfinal played against France.