Pozzecco: “Five years ago it seemed like a joke.”

Pozzecco: "Five years ago it seemed like a joke"

Italbasket coach Gianmarco Pozzecco spoke after the loss to Latvia at the World Cup. The Azzurri, defeated 87-82, will play against Slovenia for seventh place.

Pozzecco made a flattering assessment of the rainbow review: "I didn’t say it before, I say it now. I always had the feeling that Italy in the last 20 years couldn’t qualify for the World Cup because it’s poor. The truth’è that we raised the bar so high today, that the thing that I’’’’’’’’’’ 

"In the last three/four years these guys have proven to themselves and not only that they can be in this tournament. And in this edition even more so. To be here, in the top eight, è something that five years ago seemed like a joke. Then you can have different points of view. But this è the truth ". 

"When I was outside the Federation, I saw that the national team was not able to achieve these results. In the last three World Cups, we did not qualify. And this summer everyone in Italy, watching us against the USA, convinced our fans that we could win against the USA. If one doesn’t understand that we have gone so far as to make everyone believe that we can beat America, that we have raised the bar so high that we are watching Italy vs USA thinking that we are going to the semifinals. And he does not realize that è extraordinary". 

"The difference l’ve made that game there, not the one today. I guarantee you, and this è is my opinion, against any other team we would have gone to the semifinals".