Polonara plans eventual return to Italy, credits Lithuanian fans and two coaches / News - Basketnews.com

Achille Polonara expressed his love for Italian basketball and hinted that the opportunity to return home might arise in the near future.

Credit: Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS Credit Erikas Ovčarenko/BNS

Matteo Andreani from Basket Inside recently interviewed Zalgiris Kaunas power forward Achille Polonara, discussing his experiences in Lithuania, future plans, and the coaches who have made a significant impact on the Italian player's career.

Achille Polonara

MIN:15.21PTS:3.86 (49.24%)REB:3.37As:0.94ST:0.43BL:0.51TO:0.37GM:35ProfileEuroLeague2022/2023

Polonara describes living in Lithuania as an excellent situation for a basketball player.

"Ideal situation for a player," he said. "You don't have many distractions, you can focus on basketball, and feel the warmth of people everywhere. On social networks, people always support you, never insults. Many fans and many teams should learn a lot from this mentality.

"In Lithuania, basketball is a religion and Zalgiris is the most followed and supported team," he continued. "Zalgiris is more than a team for many, not just for the residents of Kaunas. Just look at the arena that is always full of people who drive for hours to come and watch Zalgiris.

"Coming to the arena is a celebration for Lithuanians. When I arrived there, it was January 9th, and Zalgiris advertised games and ticket sales for the end of March. Everything else before was sold-out. I've never seen anything like this in all of Europe, amazing."

Credit D.Lukšta

While Polonara has been playing in foreign leagues for the recent four years, he anticipates returning to Italy at some point in his career.

"Sooner or later I'll definitely go back to Italy, I don't think I'll finish my career abroad. When? I honestly don't know. Maybe it's happening this summer or in the [further] future. There is a desire to return to Italy, and this time will come."

When discussing the coaches who have had the greatest impact on his career, Polonara highlights two significant figures.

First, he mentions Italian NT head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco, whom he considers an older brother. Polonara also acknowledges current Crvena Zvezda boss, Dusko Ivanovic, under whom the 31-year-old thrived at Baskonia in 2019-21.

"Two coaches. Gianmarco Pozzecco, who I consider as an older brother, both in terms of player/coach and as a person. The other is Dusko Ivanovic. He is the coach with whom I had the best season of my career. Dusko gave me a lot of confidence," Polonara underlined.

"That year, I was the player with the most minutes played in the entire EuroLeague. He made me play even when I didn't deserve it. I had other important coaches, but these are without a doubt the first two names that come to mind."

Polonara, who arrived in Kaunas at the beginning of January, was scoring 6.7 points and grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game in the Lithuanian League. However, it was revealed on Wednesday that Polonara had a partially torn thigh muscle in Game 1 of the domestic league semifinals, which will take a few weeks to heal. This means he is very likely out for the rest of the season.

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