Pozzecco shows pride despite the loss, praises Nico Mannion: 'He'll become one of the best players in the world' / News - Basketnews.com

Coach Gianmarco Pozzecco was absolutely proud of his players after the loss against Greece. The Italian head coach praised every single one of his players and explained why all the fans had a great time watching the game.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Italy came up short against Greece but they really gave a great thrill to the Mediolanum Forum fans, losing only in the last few seconds against coach Itoudis' side and missing the shot to tie the game.

Coach Gianmarco Pozzecco knows that despite the loss his players made a huge effort and deserve to be praised.

"We went one shot away from history, because if we would have tied the game and went to the overtime, then everything could have happened. But we need to be pride, the guys never gave up", coach Pozzecco explained. "In some moments during the game I was worried, but my players showed me that I didn't need to be because they always have my back".

"I think this was a huge game for the fans", Pozzecco continued. "Everyone needs to be praised. Congratulations to coach Itoudis and his staff, to the referees, and to all the players, this was a huge show for everyone in".

"We played so hard, that's the most important thing, we showed that we never give up, probably another would have given up after that Greece's run in the third quarter, but we didn't, we fought back".

When asked about Simone Fontecchio's performance, who finished with 26 points and almost tied the game by himself down the stretch, Pozzecco actually took the time to analyze every single player on the roster.

"Thank you for the question because you give me the opportunity to praise the individual performances of the players. For some people, it is something that a coach shouldn't do, but I believe it's the right thing", Pozzecco explained.

"Datome is our captain, even today he played an amazing game, Melli is incredible, I believe that is one of the most phantasmagorical players I've ever seen in my life, both offensively and defensively is playing at an amazing level in this EuroBasket", the Italian head coach said.

"Fontecchio received a huge gratification because at the end of the game the entire arena was calling him MVP, Tonut, as I said yesterday, he's sacrificing himself but today, in the final part of the game he showed all his talent, he was dominating. Polonara is playing like everyone was expecting, I know him very well as a player", Pozzecco continued.

Probably the most important words came for Nico Mannion, who finished with 6 points and shot only 1/7 from the field.

"Spissu and Mannion are doing exactly what they're supposed to do. I trust Spissu completely (the two worked together in Sassari, ed), while Mannion I believe he's gonna become one of the best players in the world, he's an extraordinary player, of course, he's coming from two seasons in which he didn't play enough and that damaged him, but I'm sure he'll explode because he's incredibly strong".

"The truth is that Italy plays as a team but then highlights the talents of individuals", Pozzecco concluded.

The host of Group C will now face Ukraine on Monday, a game that could become crucial for both teams in terms of positioning inside the group and in order to avoid more difficult pairing in the final phase of EuroBasket.

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