Italy's Gigi Datome excited for future of Azzurri as he retires from basketball

Luigi "Gigi" Datome on Saturday formally called it a career, hanging his jersey after an illustrious run that spanned for 20 years as he played his last basketball game at the 2023 FIBA World Cup against Slovenia.

Datome, however, could not close out his career with a win as the Azzurri fell to Slovenia in their battle for seventh spot.

But the 35-year-old said the future is bright for Italy, stressing the fact that they have been consistently showing they're among the top teams in the world for the past years.

"I think we showed in the last years, especially [the] Olympics, last EuroBasket and this year, that we are in the level of the first eight [teams] of every tournament," Datome said shortly after their 89-85 loss at the Mall of Asia Arena.

But the 6-foot-8 forward knows there is much more to be done.

"But of course, we miss something else. I think our team needs to mind the level that we need to reach if we want to compete for the medal, that's the ultimate goal," he added.

"We're on a good level but we can do something more if we want to go farther. I think everybody should have this goal in the future because we are very close every time but we cannot break the wall of quarterfinals. Hopefully in the future we can."

Datome started out his national team career in 2003, joining Italy's youth team until he debuted in the seniors squad in 2007 for the EuroBasket. Since then, Datome had been a staple for the Italian national team and would appear in two World Cup editions including this one.

As a professional player, Datome, who went undrafted in the NBA in 2009, also suited up for a couple of NBA teams like the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics.

He marked his last game on Saturday against Slovenia, subbing out with still 3:26 to go in the fourth quarter as he received applause and a standing ovation from both teams as well as the crowd.

"Thank you for kind applause. It showed a gesture of love and respect and I just wanna say thank you. Today was emotional, of course," Datome added.

"As a captain, I am proud of this team for what we did."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News