ITA – Gigli, Italy target 2014

ROME (2014 FIBA World Championship) - Italy big man Angelo Gigli has expressed the hope that his country will be chosen to stage the 2014 FIBA World Championship.

The 25-year-old Lottomatica Roma big man played a prominent role for the Azzurri at the 2006 event in Japan.

China and Spain are also vying for the 2014 competition. All three recently presented bids to FIBA in Geneva.

"For sure, it would be very important," Gigli said to FIBA.com.

"For all the movement of the national team, for all the Italian players, we hope that Rome and Italy can reach this goal but it's not easy.

"We have so many years before then but we could organize it very well."

Injury prevented Gigli from playing this year for Italy in EuroBasket 2009 qualifying and his absence, along with the no-shows of NBA players Danilo Gallinari, Andrea Bargnani and Marco Belinelli contributed to the national side's failure to reach Poland.

The Italians can still book a place via the Additional Qualifying Round.

If Italy finish top of Group B that also includes France and Finland, they will take on the winner of a Group A that has Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal and Belgium.

"I want to come back to the national team," Gigli said.

"This period (for us) isn't very good. We had a summer that wasn't very good so everyone wants to come back and deliver what we had some years ago.

"It will be very hard, but we can do it because in Italy, basketball is very important. We want to do something special."

Many are predicting that France will beat Italy to Group B supremacy and go on to reach Poland.

"We have to see which players come, whether the NBA players will come or not," Gigli said.

"In the past two or three summers, we've had big injury problems. We hope that everyone will stay well.

"Coach (Carlo) Recalcati will choose the team and then we have to show something on the court."

FIBA