Italy's HC Pozzecco says he wanted to commit suicide after World Cup loss / News - Basketnews.com

Pozzecco said he wanted to open a hotel window and jump from the 37th floor, but he couldn't.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

The Italian national team's head coach, Gianmarco Pozzecco, has been under tremendous pressure during the 2023 FIBA World Cup. After the last win against Gilas Pilipinas, the specialist admitted that he had destructive thoughts.

Italy / Schedule

Angola Italy67-81 Italy Dominican Republic82-87 Philippines Italy83-90

Pozzecco got ejected during the game against the Dominican Republic on Sunday after receiving two technical fouls. After the Italians ended up losing, the Italian Basketball Federation's president, Gianni Petrucci, released a fierce statement criticizing the team and the coach directly.

In a post-game press conference, Pozzecco, probably exaggeratingly, said that he wanted to end his life after the last game.

"I love my players. I'm [living] on the 37th floor in the hotel. After the game against the Dominican Republic, I tried to open the door because I wanted to jump and kill myself," he said. "Fortunately, you cannot open the door. The window, sorry."

"But I'm sure that if I jumped, in that moment there would be someone from Filipinos waiting [with their arms open trying to catch me] to save my life. Or I'd jump on a car because there's so much traffic, but it doesn't matter," Pozzecco told the media.

After the confession, Pozzecco professed love to his players and didn't want to talk about the details of the game against the Gilas Pilipinas.

"I suffer, I suffer a lot, but I've got 12 amazing guys, that's the truth," he said. "I love each of them. I've got an amazing staff. I love each of them. And I have the best president that I've had in my life. Over the last two days, he's been like a father to a son [to me]."

"Of course, I'm really happy because it was not an easy group. Those guys won the last 11 games out of 12. I really love them, I really love them, really," the coach continued. "That's about basketball. I don't like to talk about traveling and system, just love."

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