Panzera eyes up title with Italy after taking down the champions
BOURGES - After tearing up the script by beating holders Spain in the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA U16 Women' European Championship 2017, Italy star Ilaria Panzera is preparing for glory.
BOURGES (FIBA U16 Women's European Championship 2017) - After tearing up the script by beating holders Spain in the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA U16 Women' European Championship 2017, Italy star Ilaria Panzera is preparing to write another glorious chapter.
Within minutes of playing a starring role with 19 points in a famous 50-49 triumph, Panzera was making it clear that Italy aren't going to be satisfied with simply qualifying for the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 by virtue of finishing among the top 5 teams in Bourges.
"This was a really great thing that we did - to beat a champion team like Spain in this way," she said. "We knew it would be a hard game, but we won it with our heart and by doing everything we could to stay calm in the biggest moments.
"We are so happy to have won and to now have the chance to go back to the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup. But our main focus is now on the Semi-Finals as our only goal is to push ahead and win this championship here in Bourges."
Panzera is still relishing the prospect of a trip to Belarusian capital of Minsk for next year's prestigious global competition since she watched her nation make history at last year's edition in Zaragoza where they made the Final.
Italy finished on the second step of the podium at last year's FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup
The most pressing matter for Panzera is making up for finishing fourth last year on home soil at the U16 level and missing out on a medal.
"Of course we are still excited about playing in a global competition like the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup. But we want to improve on what happened last year in Udine and we have confidence in ourselves that we can do that," she explained. "We also know Italy never give up, so we will always have a chance to do more good things here, in this competition."
Making it to Minsk has eased at least a small part of the agony endured by Italy's senior women at FIBA EuroBasket Women 2017 where they were pipped to fifth place and denied a spot at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 in Spain - a fact not lost on Panzera.
"They didn't reach the goal by only a short and painful margin, but we can all still be proud of what they did," she said. "Now we are also trying to make Italy proud of what we are trying to do."
FIBA