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Toto Forray, Trento: 'I will miss the World Cup final!'

Toto Forray, Trento: 'I will miss the World Cup final!'

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17 December 20226 Mins read

Toto Forray, Trento: 'I will miss the World Cup final!'

Checking in from Italy is Dolomiti Energia Trento playmaker Toto Forray, who has returned for his EuroCupBasketball.com column once again. Forray joined Trento in 2011 and has played for the team ever since, becoming its team captain in 2016. He helped Trento reach the EuroCup Semifinals in 2016 and is currently in his seventh season in the competition. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Forray returns with a very special blog entry, in which he discusses more than just his team's run in the 7DAYS EuroCup. Argentina plays the World Cup final on Sunday, but Trento faces EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Italian League action an hour later. But don't worry, Toto will find a way to know the score, with a lot of people informing him from the stands.

Hello again, EuroCup fans! Winning a couple of games is just what we needed after so many losses. The game against Hamburg was key for us, because we are going to fight for a playoff spot against them. If they had beaten us, they would have a three-game advantage over us, and it would be difficult to rally back from that. So, this is why this game was so important for us. Now we know we have an actual chance to advance to the playoffs, especially if we beat Slask Wroclaw next week. We play against Milan in the Italian League at home on Sunday, and then we will give everything we have in Poland.

Now we know we have an actual chance to advance to the playoffs!"

We needed an adjustment period, but above all, the last break we had in the EuroCup helped us be in a better physical condition, and that allowed us to play better. We lost some close games and that was one of our weaknesses as a team, but we improved that during the break. When we beat Gran Canaria, it had been over one year since we won a EuroCup game, and we finally did it. Moreover, we beat a really good team like Gran Canaria while being short-handed, because we missed a couple of players in that game.

We made a lot of good signings this season, and I wanted to talk to you about Matteo Spagnolo. He has a lot of athleticism, good court vision and has all the skills to become a great scorer. He can attack the rim and finish strong, but he needs to work on his court vision to become an unbelievable player. He is a very humble kid who listens to us, asks a lot of questions and tries to understand the game. He is really determined to keep growing. I have seen a lot of good young players in Trento over the years, but Matteo can be a star. Now it is up to him. He has all it takes to be a star, and he practices really well. He has the right mindset and a great chance to get there.

So, you know I am Argentinean, right? Well, we need to talk about the World Cup and the final against France on Sunday. I have only been able to watch two games until now, because of this and that. When we lost against Saudi Arabia, we were coming back from Turkey. I missed the second group-stage game because we were playing, and I also missed the third game because we were traveling again. I was able to watch the knockout games against Australia and the Netherlands, that's it.

… And I will miss the World Cup final, because we play against Milan at 17:00 CET and the game is at 16:00 CET!

It is hard not to watch such an important game, but I am following our national team's run and all the celebrations after the games. Like every Argentinean, I am paying a lot of attention and I am looking forward to each of our games. You may be wondering what someone does in a situation like this. Well, the game is one hour earlier than ours, so I will know the halftime score before we play against Milan. And then we play at home, so a lot of people will be telling me the score, for sure.

A lot of people will be telling me the [World Cup final] score, for sure."

When we played against Poland, everywhere I looked there was someone telling me the score of that game! This is Trento, I have been here for many years; they know who I am, so everybody was informing me about it. I had to tell people "Hey, that one over there already told me", and stuff like that. Every time the ball was stopped, someone looked at me and told me how Argentina was doing. It was a lot of fun, and I expect the same – or even more – on Sunday! I am sure all Argentinean basketball players are going through the same stuff. I saw that Luca Vildoza was in the same situation in a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game in Belgrade, right at the end of the game.

The game against Slask will be our last EuroCup game in 2022. It was not our best year, but we are finishing strong, especially if we beat Slask. We have to carry that momentum into 2023. The team has a lot of confidence now and in the last few weeks, and we are aware that this game in Poland is very important for us. Slask kept a core of players from last season and we lost convincingly against them last season, but that should give us extra motivation to do better this time. Trento tifosi, we will give everything on the floor and try to win as many games as we need to make it to the playoffs, which would be great for the club. And you saw the playoffs last season – it was insane! We have to get there, and after that, anything can happen.