FOSHAN, China – Danilo Gallinari and Luigi Datome will bolster Italy in the FIBA World Cup and they are expected to pose huge problems for Gilas Pilipinas. 

Philippine team assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga admitted the two star forwards will change the dynamics of how the Filipinos will play the Italians in their World Cup opener on Saturday, August 31. 

There was uncertainty surrounding the World Cup status of both Gallinari and Datome after sitting out during early tune-up games, but they were eventually named to Italy’s 12-man lineup. 

“Gallinari and Datome play the 4 (power forward) and so all of a sudden, their bigs now have three-point shooting. That opens up the floor right away,” said Arespacochaga, who managed to scout Italy and Serbia in Shenyang. 

“In the previous games, their bigs have shooting from the perimeter, but not the three-point shot. So all of a suddem, that changes the spacing.” 

In his 11 seasons in the NBA, the 6-foot-8 Gallinari proved to be a potent outside threat by making 37.6% of his triples. 

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-8 Datome shot an impressive 43.6% from long distance in his 9 years in the EuroLeague.  

“These two have been playing international basketball for a long time. Of course, Gallinari is in the NBA while Datome is in the EuroLeague, so they make their team better,” Arespacochaga said. 

But the Italians are not just about Gallinari and Datome as they have grizzled NBA veteran Marco Belinelli and several equally dangerous gunners. 

Italy also has big guards in 6-foot-6 Daniel Hackett and 6-foot-7 Luca Vitali and its smallest player in the roster is Ariel Filloy, who stands at 6-foot-3. 

“They actually have a lot of post-up plays, not for their center, but for their point guard, shooting guard, small forward and power forward,” Arespacochaga said. 

“So that would pose a lot of problems for us, especially because these players are very smart. They’re international players with a lot of experience.”

“They score from the post, they can score from the outside. They also like to make the extra pass. They’re good passers and they move the ball well.” 

Being coordinated on defense would be crucial for Gilas in order to beat Italy, Arespacochaga said. 

“We’ll probably have a hard time guarding one-on-one. So we’ve got to come up with a good defensive scheme against some of these guys, especially posting up.” 

“And of course, the plays for their shooters that we watched, that’s what we want to stop. I think that would be key – how we would play defense against their post ups, against their shooters, and against their pick and roll.” – Rappler.com