ITA - Datome, Azzurri gaining respect

LJUBLJANA (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Luigi Datome has made some jaw-dropping plays at EuroBasket 2013 for Italy.

The 25-year-old has hit three-pointers, scored in transition and beaten players off the dribble.

His finest move of all was on Monday night in a battle with Spain.

With less than two seconds remaining, Datome entered the game with the Azzurri trailing 70-68 but in possession of the ball.

The 2.03m forward caught an inbounds pass near the baseline to the right of his basket, knifed his way past two defenders, floated through the air towards the lane and banked in the shot to force overtime.

Italy then prevailed, 86-81.

Detroit Pistons-bound Datome, last season's Italian league MVP after shining for Virtus Roma, spoke to FIBA.com ahead of Italy's Quarter-Final with Lithuania.

FIBA: You seemed to hang in the air for an eternity before calmly sinking that shot at the end of regulation.
Datome: It's nice to have this kind of moment, when you can help. I've been lucky that I didn't have to make a crazy shot. My teammates were very good at using the picks and flashing, so, we had a good play.

FIBA: How important was it for Italy to get the feeling of winning again against Spain after the previous two games, tough losses to Slovenia and Croatia?
Datome: For sure, this was the win that showed we deserved to play in the Quarter-Finals. We came to Ljubljana with five wins in a row (from Group D in Koper). We competed with Slovenia and Croatia until the last minute, but for sure a victory is always better than a loss. Now, we're going to have two days off to get ourselves prepared (for Lithuania).

FIBA: Expectations weren't high before the EuroBasket, were they?
Datome: Yes, because before the EuroBasket, we lost Danilo Gallinari, Daniel Hackett and Andrea Bargnani. For sure, they are great players and for sure would have been a great help to us. But I was sure my teammates would be a great help and if we developed a good chemistry, we could compete with other teams. We have showed a great mentality, a great team effort on offense and defense. This is basketball at the end of the day. I think we have good players.

FIBA: Marco Cusin has been terrific.
Datome: He's our goalkeeper. The energy that he gives us is amazing. On offense, he runs a lot of pick and rolls and runs the court to get back on defense. He had a tough job on Marc Gasol. Maybe he won't go in the headlines of newspapers because he doesn't score 20 points, but for sure he's really, really crucial for us.

FIBA: Alessandro Gentile had a tough game against Croatia in every respect but recovered from that in the Spain game.
Datome: He's a great player and everyone forgets that he is just 21. He looks like a veteran. He's very skilled and very physical, but that can happen to everybody. Tonight, he had great personality in the important moments. For sure, he's one of the important players for us.

FIBA: By beating Spain, you set up a Quarter-Final with Lithuania and not Serbia. Is this a better match for you or is it insignificant?
Datome: I don't know because they are both great teams and when you play a game when the loser goes home, anything can happen. For me, I think that it's the most important game of my life. So I can't just wait to start.

FIBA: If you win against Lithuania, you will qualify for the World Cup.
Datome: That's the goal. For nine years, we underachieved and now, we're overachieving. So to play in the World Cup, it would be important for Italian basketball, for me and my teammates. We want to bring Italy back to respectability and I think we're doing it in the right way.

For full and in-depth coverage of EuroBasket 2013, go to the official website http://www.eurobasket2013.org.

FIBA