There are no words to enhance the European bronze of women’s Italy, thirty years after the last medal, the brno silver in full was Catarina Pollini, with the final escaped from nothing last Friday against a stronger Belgium and the third place obtained in Athens by chopping a France on the paper (and also in practice, as we saw last year in Paris) from Olympic gold. A game in which Italy defended very well, dirtying every lazy passage of the Toupane team and putting themselves in the area when the tension of the opposing tiraticians rose, and attacked in more ways: the isolations of Zandalasini, the shots from the average of Verona, the continuous cuts of the long ones, the competitive fire of Fassina and Cubaj.
The sensational defensive intensity, which held France 30 points under its average score (a crazy thing also this), generated enthusiasm action after action, petrol to overturn a prediction that wanted the asphalted blue by the alleged anger of the French, committed suicide in the semifinal against Spain. In reality, only Migna Touré had something inside and among those who have disappointed the Salaun, in the last season in Schio, in the next season in Prague but also a companion of Zandalasini in Golden State, in the crazy female activity where the best play 12 months out of 12.
After the end of the blue, even at the time of emotion, what was written by the Guerino after the quarter -final with Turkey and also in other sports, starting with football: never confuse a national team, albeit fantastic, with the movement it represents, should be written. The Italy of Capobianco has some players of absolute value such as Zandalasini and Lorela Cubaj, not surprisingly both with past and future in the Wnba, and some others of the first band such as Verona, Fassina, Pan and Keys, not to mention those who was missing for injury like Matilde Villa. In addition, it has some long with different characteristics and muscles, the Cubaj-Madera package and that of the lightest Keys-Andrè, which allow a balanced basketball, which does not depend only on the shot from outside.
This does not totally explain the absurd 69-54 inflicted on the French, just as the areas of Capobianco do not explain it, in reality a 2-3 of the past, who sent the opponents on tilt. Perhaps this team, in fact born at the European Championships of 2023 when Lino Lardo led it beyond particular stories such as that of Zandalasini (already protagonist in 2017, the first European with Capobianco CT) has a right chemistry and a nucleus of girls accrued almost all in the same period, but the NBA generation of the males has taught that talking about cycles does not make much sense: we live and play today. And today this Italy has done a huge thing, which can change the perception of women’s basketball by many parents and also of many girls who do not know it, who see her as the poor and ugly relative of volleyball. Very good.
A team that by composition and age has a future, which is concretely that of the 2026 world tournament in Germany, with the participation that will pass by the qualifying tournament in March. A nice prize also for Capobianco, so anti-pedestrian to be a character, Capobianco that 15 years ago shortly after being the architect of the Miracle Teramo (together with Jaycee Carroll, Moss, poet, love, a very young Polonara, etc.) made the federal choice, changing several times role (even the 3×3 …), not exactly the more logical one for one who had been a coach of the year. Meanwhile, once every thirty years we can enjoy the present and forget a series A with games that are played in front and a few hundred people.
