MANILA — A lot of words describe Gianmarco Pozzecco. Passionate, energetic, sometimes crazy, entertaining, and never boring are the easy descriptions. But the description that has Italy dreaming at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 of their first podium finish is a great coach.
It is impossible to overlook the Gianmarco Pozzecco of the first set of words.
There is the Italian coach picking up a second technical foul and getting ejected against the Dominican Republic after demonstratively taking off his jacket to protest a call.
There is Pozzecco so wildly gesturing throughout games that his shirt tails come out of his pants.
Or there is the 50-year-old coach energetically pumping his fists or raising his arms after a big basket or defensive play by his team.
There is also Pozzecco asking at a press conference about trying to meet Philippines boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. Or the coach telling reporters that he was so distraught after his team's loss to the Dominicans that he wished the windows of his 37th-floor hotel room could be opened so he could jump out and kill himself.
But through all of those entertaining moments, one message comes through - Pozzecco's love for his players. And they feed off that.
"We know him. He gives us even more energy, more excitement, more positivity. It's just the way he is, he's not acting crazy. He's really like that. We know him. The world knows him a little now too. We are just taking his positivity and the energy is good vibes for us," said Italy's NBA forward Simone Fontecchio. FIBA