Italian basketball began its (difficult) journey towards the Paris Games by beating Bahrain in the first match of Group B of its pre-Olympic tournament, the one in San Juan, Puerto Rico: the final score was 114-53, with all partial scores clearly in favour of the Azzurri (19-9: 28-16; 29-17; even 38-11 in the final period). The final +61 is not a record in the history of the National Basketball Team, given that in 1979 the unfortunate Ireland suffered a 79-point deficit from the Azzurra of the time and that the annals also report a +66 over Switzerland (it was 1987: that day in Forlì Antonello Riva became the top scorer of all time for Italy, in a match, rising to 46) and a +64 in 2005 over Georgia. But such a large victory still remains, after having given the right amount of weight to the opponent, a good viaticum. in a short tournament with clear-cut verdicts, in which you are required to come close to perfection and, above all, to maintain high concentration against everyone.
A match taken seriously, even with the odds in your favor
Beyond the numbers, the positive aspect is that Italy took seriously a match in which the odds were in their favor. After an imprecise start (but on the other side things were going even worse), Azzurra got into the saddle, quickly taking a double-digit lead (16-4, 19-6) and also spending the right amount of energy on defense. Bahrain immediately saw its best player, the naturalized American Wayne Chisu, limited by fouls and was stunned by an 8-0 partial at the start of the second quarter (27-9). However, once this significant margin had been built, the National team slowed down and took it lightly, the only flaw of the match: a flash of 10-3 revived the opponent (30-19), but it was only a flash because after the time out for clarification by coach Pozzecco the team returned with the right attitude. From then on it was a monologue, with the lead growing inexorably.
On an individual level, everyone scored
The weakness of the opponent – among whose ranks the “attraction” was the thirty-year-old Hasan, wider than tall but capable of holding the court with dignity – has expanded the numbers of Italy to the best: the National team shot with 60% overall effectiveness (41% from three points, 71% from two) and controlled the airspace, conquering 45 rebounds (+21 in the specific item). The assist data is sensational, as Pozzecco would say: 39; but perhaps the Fiba observer was being generous. On an individual level, everyone scored, with Melli and Gallinari (14 points each) taking the lion’s share, followed by Abass (11) and Caruso and Bortolani, the two usually less used who in a few minutes also wrote 11 on the scoresheet.
The first step is done
The first step has therefore been taken: it was supposed to be little more than a training session and in the end it was. Pozzecco, however, talks about a personal nervousness in the initial phases: «We were not playing well, which is what we then started to do. We have great respect for all the opponents and this evening it was the same. I am happy that the boys played for 40 minutes with aggression, putting pressure and doing exactly what we had prepared. Now we look forward with confidence and think about Puerto Rico. We are here for a dream and we want to make it come true».
Now the bar is raised
The bar is raised: in the night between Thursday 4th and Friday 5th there will be the challenge against the home team to define the semifinals (in our case already won) of Saturday 6th. We will understand, also based on the results of group A, if we will find Lithuania – in theory the opponent to beat to deserve Paris – right away or in a possible final. It doesn’t matter, anyway: sooner or later we will have to face them and try to overcome them. The law of pre-Olympic tournaments – in the one in Athens, for the record, the Slovenia of a lazy Luca Doncic is already with its back to the wall, having lost badly with Croatia – is very simple and does not allow for mistakes from a certain point on.
