It could not have been a special match and it was a special match.
The first ever as coach of Gianmarco Pozzecco's national team in his Trieste, the star of Luka Doncic (12 points for him) lighting up the Allianz Dome, packed in every order of places for a basketball party that brought Italy and Slovenia together.
In the end, Sekulic's team prevailed (71-90), which in the coming days like Italy will face very important challenges for qualifying for the 2023 World Cup
. The best blue scorer was Tomas Woldetensae with 13 points, Achille in double figures Polonara at 12.
Debut with the Senior National Team for Woldetensae himself, Luca Severini, Leonardo Okeke and John Petrucelli.
Spissu, Tonut, Petrucelli, Polonara and Severini was instead the starting quintet chosen by the new coach.
"It was a long and tiring week for me, an earthquake of incredible emotions - the words of Pozzecco at the end of the game -. When I entered the field I was visibly moved, the welcome that the Trieste fans gave me was unforgettable. . For us it was a complicated challenge, I congratulate Slovenia for the great intensity they have put on the pitch enriching their game with very talented plays. I am proud of these guys, the time to work was short but I had important responses in an evening in which someone also suffered the tension of the debut.
The important thing was not to give up and it didn't happen, I insisted these days on the concept of sharing and paradoxically we passed the ball too much by giving up a few shots ".
