World No. 10 Italy is ready to make its stand against the Gilas Pilipinas home crowd when they meet for their final fixture of the group stage in the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Tuesday, Aug. 29, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

Coming off a loss against the Dominican Republic, Italy is looking to strengthen its hold of the No. 2 spot to see itself through the next round.

However, like the Dominicans and the Angolans, who both succeeded in fighting themselves through the roar of the Filipino crowd, the visiting Italians are facing the same passionate audience. 

Former NBA player Luigi Datome, who is set to retire from national duty for Italy after the 2023 edition, is leaning on his past experiences and doesn’t feel any sense of pressure. 

“At this stage, there’s no time for the pressure. I think we’re old enough and everybody went through important games against tough home courts,” Datome said. 

“Could be exciting, I think it’ll be a nice atmosphere and all players hope to play in a nice atmosphere. I’m gonna control what we do on the court and all the rest is just the environment. We need to be focused on our job,” said Datome who also tallied eight points for the Italians in the losing effort against the top seed Dominicans. 

Behind Gilas, as expected, is the basketball-crazed nation, which flocked the 15,000-seating capacity and newly renovated Big Dome after breaking the record for most attended single FIBA game at the Philippine Arena with 38,115 fans. 

Though the Philippines lost that opening game against the Dominican Republic last Aug. 25, the national team can count on the Filipinos to show up for them regardless of whatever result they yield. 

The Nationals similarly faced Italy in the pool play of the 2019 edition in China, where they suffered a 108-62 loss.