Achille Polonara: 'Everyone is waiting to see Giannis Antetokounmpo against us' / News - Basketnews.com

The Italian national team opened the EuroBasket 2022 with a victory over Estonia in a large part thanks to Achille Polonara's performance, who talked about upcoming Italy's game against Greece and more.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

The Italian national team opened their EuroBasket 2022 with a win over Estonia (83-62) but the second game of the tournament is likely to be much more difficult for the Italians.

Achille Polonara

Team:Anadolu Efes IstanbulPosition:PF, CAge:30Height:203 cmWeight:93 kgBirth place:ItalyProfileNewsStatistics

One of the big stars of the night against Estonia was the new power forward of Anadolu Efes Istanbul Achille Polonara, who finished the game with 12 points (2/4 2PT, 2/3 3PT, 2/2 FT), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block for 27 EFF.

Shortly after the victory against Estonia, the Italian spoke to SDNA about his team's first game in front of the passionate home crowd, and about the upcoming game against the Greek national team, which features NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

"I think on Saturday we have to play a perfect game. Greece is an excellent team and has many quality players, not just Giannis. We should rest and recover to 100%. The match against Greece will be another battle," Polonara stated.

When asked about how much the team is missing Danilo Gallinari, who suffered an injury just before the EuroBasket, said that the loss is huge, but now they have to focus and play without him.

"For sure, Gallo [Danilo Gallinari] is a big absence for us. He is a player who gives us something more, he is an example for us. We will have to be even more focused without him and we are going game by game," said Polonara.

Polonara enjoyed the home crowd in Italy's EuroBasket opener in Milan but also paid respects to the Estonian fans.

"Our crowd was incredible in our first game. Also, I want to talk about the Estonians who traveled. They were excellent. Our audience, however, was our sixth player," said the Italian forward.

When asked about Giannis Antetokounmpo, who the Italians will face in the next game, Polonara said that he expects the Italian fans to back his team and go crazy.

"I think everyone will go crazy in the game against Greece. Everyone is waiting to see him [Giannis Antetokounmpo] against us. We play at home. Therefore, we should give our best for our country and our fans," Polonara talked about his expectations for the next game.

"We have to go game by game, as I said earlier. Each time we should only focus on our next match. We'll see after the first round," Polonara concluded.

Italy will face off against Greece on September 3 at 21:00 CEST at the Mediolanum Forum.

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