VENICE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Paul Biligha likes to tell the story about his surprise introduction to Italy's national team.

While he's a lock to make the team now when it plays in World Cup Qualifiers, that certainly wasn't the case less than a year ago when hardly anyone outside of Italy even knew who he was.

"After my season with (former club) Cremona, I didn't think I had too many chances to make the national team," he said to FIBA.basketball. "But in June, I got the call from the office of the national team and they said, 'You have to be ready because maybe, Ettore Messina will call you for the national team.' I was like, 'Wow, okay. I'll be ready.'"

“FOR ME IT'S A GREAT THING TO PLAY FOR THE NATIONAL TEAM. EVERY ITALIAN GUY THAT WANTS TO PLAY BASKETBALL WANTS TO COME IN THE NATIONAL TEAM." BilighaBiligha

Biligha still sounds surprised when he talks about it.

"I didn't understand," he said. "Why did Messina want to call me? How does he know me? Has he seen me play basketball? So, I just came (to training camp) and Messina told me, 'I know about you. I have seen you on video.'

"And I thought, 'How is this possible, someone like him coaching with an NBA team and NBA guys knows an Italian player in Italy? And you begin to understand how Messina is great. And then it started."

Biligha didn't just make Italy's EuroBasket roster, he averaged almost 16 minutes per game, and 19mpg in Italy's last four contests. He has also played in all of Italy's World Cup Qualifiers wins.

Biligha's as fierce as they come on defense in the World Cup Qualifiers

His rise to Italy's national team underlines just how hard he's worked. The Perugia-born player says he "started at the bottom".

"It's not like everyone said at the beginning, "You're going to be a great player," he said.

"IF YOU HAVE A DREAM, DON'T BE AFRAID TO GO AFTER IT. IF YOU DON'T TRY, THEN YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO GO FOR IT." BilighaBiligha

"I started in the sixth, seventh division in Italy and every year grew, went from sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second and at the end, the first division. This is all about hard work.

"You have to be focused if you have a dream, don't be afraid to go after it. If you don't try, then you'll never know if you have the capacity to go for it."

Biligha is now playing for last season's Italian league champions, Umana Reyer Venezia, a team second in the top flight and just a game behind EA7 Emporio Armani Milano.

Umana Reyer narrowly missed out on reaching the Basketball Champions League Play-Offs but Biligha had some outstanding moments.

In the FIBA Europe Cup, Biligha has helped Umana Reyer make it to the last four. He is receiving great coaching at the club.

He loves playing in big games, especially those for the national team.

"It's really important to me," he said. "I was born in Italy. My parents come from Cameroon and have lived in Italy for many years.

"For me it's a great thing to play for the national team. Every Italian guy that plays basketball wants to come in the national team."

Biligha says the first time he wore the Italy jersey for a big game was unforgettable.

“THE FANS HAVE A CHANCE TO WATCH THE NATIONAL TEAM AND NOT JUST DURING THE SUMMER. I THINK IT'S A GOOD NEW FORMAT.” BilighaBiligha

"I felt like a kid that had received a big toy," he said. "I enjoyed it, and when I looked in the locker room at the guys I was playing with, all around I saw Gigi Datome, Nicolo Melli, Marco Belinelli. I had watched them in FIBA games and now, I was going to compete with them in the European Championship. It was a great.”

Biligha says becoming a national team player and featuring in EuroBaskets and World Cup Qualifiers has raised his profile.

"You play for the national team in Italy and you're a different kind of a player," he said. "Now everyone says, 'You've got talent because you're in the national team.' Even outside of Italy, they know you.

"It's no longer other teams saying, 'Who is this guy?' but it's 'That guy played in the national team so we have to be careful with him.' Everything has changed on the court. I think the national team has helped my career."

Biligha likes it that Italy host Qualifiers in different cities

Biligha likes the fact that Italy have brought in a lot of new players for the World Cup Qualifiers.

"When the young guys come in like this, it gives the national teams more players to choose from for a great competition like the World Cup," he said. "It's better to have 12, 15 players to play and then if somebody is injured, we'll be ready."

It's an honor just to play in the Qualifiers and especially the home games.

"I think it's a great thing," he said. "You change cities, have a possibility of playing in front of more people.

"WHEN THE PLAYERS KNOW (THANKS TO WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS SYSTEM) THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE THREE OF FOUR MORE WEEKS TO REST IN THE SUMMER, THAT'S GREAT."  BilighaBiligha

"You need that because people maybe sometimes don't know much about basketball in Italy. Maybe sometimes they need games in their city.

"When you play good games at home, it makes the people want to watch basketball."

When asked what he likes about the Qualifiers format, Biligha answers immediately: "When the players know they are going to have three of four more weeks to rest in the summer, that's great."

FIBA's new competition system cuts down on players' workload, with the average reduction worldwide measured at 26%. There's a significant scaling down of the preparation time required for qualifying games.

"To play for (club basketball) eight months and then three more months in the summer, just to practice and to play six games, that's tough every year so I think for players it’s good. They have time to recover and also during the year, the fans have a chance to watch the national team and not just during the summer. I think it's a good new format.

Biligha has developed a nice game around the basket

"Also fans and media are talking more about the national team. They know about the last game against Romania, about the game in Croatia. It's (World Cup Qualifiers) a good way to improve our status inside and outside of Italy."

The only focus now for Italy is the third window. Wins against Croatia and the Netherlands would take them closer to the 32-team World Cup.

"For sure we've had a great start, four good games," Biligha said. "But now Croatia (June 28 in Trieste) will have good players in their team and also Holland (Netherlands) have a good team. We have to take care of business."

While he's relatively new to the program, Biligha sounds like a veteran.

FIBA