Matteo Visintin enjoying the spotlight of the Most Valuable Player trophy after helping U18 Stellazzurra Rome finish first at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Patras is actually out of character for him. Major attention has been glaring upon him for many years, and it was actually his fortitude to avoid distractions that helped him to now enjoy the special moment in Patras.
Stellazzurra's Visintin saw the fruits of his labor as ANGT Patras MVP
Next Gen News
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Visintin was the clear leader of Stellazzura as the Italian team beat U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv 62-74 in the first-place game to book a ticket to the ANGT Finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. He collected 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in the first place game and for the tournament averaged 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.8 steals for a PIR of 25.2 per game
"It's an amazing feeling. I'm very, very happy, but I have to thank all my teammates," Visitin said about winning the MVP award after he ranked first in the qualifier in PIR, second in scoring, third in assists and first in steals.
The ANGT Patras was actually Visintin's fifth event in the competition. He played at three previous qualifying tournaments as well as the ANGT Finals in 2021. But this was Visintin's first victory in a big game, after having lost in the first-place game at the 2019-20 ANGT Munich and 2020-21 ANGT Istanbul, both times against U18 Real Madrid. Stellazzurra as a club had also lost in the first-place game at the 2015-16 ANGT Rome and 2017-18 ANGT Kaunas as well as the 2018 ANGT Championship Game.
"I'm grateful and proud. Finally we won and that came from my team," he said. "Last year, we were close to the win, but we were a year younger."
Visintin knows about being under age – and under the spotlight. The native of Trieste has been considered at or near the top of Italy's 2004-born generation since he was 14 years old. But he never got caught up in all the praise and just kept his head down and worked on his game.
"Since I was a little child, I've been focusing only on me and my improvements. I work hard every day at the Stellazzurra facility to be the best player I can be," he said.
When asked where that hard-working mentality comes from, Visintin said: "Since I've been young. I like working and improving during practice. My parents push me all the time to get the best out of me."
Stellazzurra head coach Germano D'Arcangeli has accompanied Visintin all those years and helped him make it easier to avoid the spotlight by working with him.
"The adversities faced over the years have built his character and left him with the composure to play these kind of games," D'Arcangeli said after the win over Maccabi. "A talented player is someone who can learn and grow from mistakes and live through hard times without getting crushed."
Lots of attention over the years can often turn into a negative, but it's a testament to Visintin that he can now enjoy the glaring lights of victory.