Danilo Gallinari shares goal at 2019 Basketball World Cup
Li Xiang
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Danilo Gallinari, forward of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers will be playing his first FIBA Basketball World Cup on behalf of Italy in China. The 30-year-old Italian shared his goal at the tournament with FIBA.

"We want to do great and this hasn't changed since we started wearing the Azzurri jersey. It won't sound new to anyone, but every athlete dreams and will forever dream about playing for his or her country," said Gallinari.

The Clippers forward should have played for Italy at EuroBasket 2017 but he was held back by injury, a problem that had been haunting him since he joined the NBA in 2008. In the past 11 seasons, he played over 60 games in only four seasons but he still managed to drop double-digit points on average in the following 10 seasons since 2008-09.

Danilo Gallinari #8 of the Los Angeles Clippers handles the ball to break through the defense of Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA playoffs. /VCG Photo

Danilo Gallinari #8 of the Los Angeles Clippers handles the ball to break through the defense of Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA playoffs. /VCG Photo

Fortunately, Gallinari's bad luck seems to have come to an end in the 2018-19 season with the Clippers. Not only did he play 68 games, but also scored a career high of 19.8 points per game. Thanks to his and his teammate's efforts, the Clippers made the 2019 NBA playoffs and fought six games with the Golden State Warriors before they were knocked out.

Italy are in Group D with Serbia, Angola and the Philippines in Foshan City of south China's Guangdong Province. Their first opponent will be the Philippines on August 31 before they meet Angola on September 2. Italy will play against their biggest rival, Serbia, led by Nikola Jokic in their third game on September 4.

"We can't make promises now. We're still months away, we'll see when it's time to go on the court, how competitive we can be against our opponents. To advance after the group phase is a must for us and for Serbia, since two teams qualify, but we will need to stay focused every game. We have to respect Philippines and Angola, too," said Gallinari.