Brescia drags Italy to victory against Georgia- Corriere.it

The palpitation of Germani, but the national emotion. From generation to generation. Parents and children, from Brescia and all of Lombardy. Only one color, blue. A single cry, incessant, spontaneous, with a mixture of voices that unites young and old: Italy, Italy!. The gala evening of the city, which responds with a full house that is not at all obvious, transforms enthusiasm into fuel for Pozzecco’s team: defeated Georgia 91-84, the qualification for the 2023 World Cup mortgaged.

But the Milanese European, starting on Friday, should not be the protagonist Danilo Gallinari: his knee injury, after a second time to scream, it gives a bitter aftertaste to an evening to remember. Yet it was a real battle. Pozzecco’s first timeout, moved by the presence of Ettore Messina and all the Olimpia Milano staff to cheer for him (he was the assistant coach until two months ago), arrives after 102 seconds with Italy under 7- 0. Two triples from Spissu restore color to the coach, ma Georgia a team to applause even without the star Shengelia. Under the basket, Italy struggles, as usual, without a pure center, but the 212 centimeters and the intimidation of Goga Bitadze – NBA player in Indiana – gas the hundred Georgian fans. Mashed potato Simone Fontecchio he has for a contract signed overseas: with nine points in the series, he puts things right.

Italy pulls almost only from three: take it or leave it. But the first overtaking, after an abundant six minutes, signed by Nicol Melli, granite and glue of the group. There is also a technical foul, for protests, to Gianmarco Pozzecco who puts himself in punishment by himself and for a few minutes leaves the management of the team to his trusted deputy Edoardo Casalone. At half-time, the Azzurri are five points ahead but the switch goes off too often: the 12-0 partial at the beginning of the third quarter cools all enthusiasm and feeds perplexity about the strength of the very tarnished starting lineup. Gallinari serves, with all his class: Danilo the right man at the right time, dissolves the tension with 15 author points and shakes all his companions from torpor. Then the crash. Frost in via Caprera. We need the harangue of Pozzecco and the return of Captain Datome to shake the people and win in the sprint thanks to the seal of Simone Fontecchio. The best.