Macron hero takes to the court alongside Italy and Georgia at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023

The Macron Hero is ready to take to the parquet alongside Italy and Georgia at the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023 that will be held from tomorrow 25 August to 10 September, in an edition that sees three host countries: the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. 32 teams, 8 rounds with the top two going through to the next stage of a World Cup that will also eventually award seven slots (including two for Europe) for the Olympic Games in Paris. A year, 2023, and a rainbow competition that become a prestigious stage in the world of basketball for Macron, which in recent months has launched partnerships with both national teams that will take part in the tournament wearing the Hero, namely the Italian Basketball Federation and the Georgian Basketball Federation.

Italy, which will play the first phase in the Philippines, is in Group A with the Philippines, Dominican Republic and Angola, and it is against the African national team that Gianmarco Pozzecco's Azzurri will make their debut on 25 August at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila. This is the Italian national team’s tenth participation in the World Cup, with their best result coming in the 1978 tournament, in the Philippines, where they came close to reaching the podium, finishing in fourth place. Capitan Datome and his team mates are ready to put all the grit they can muster into climbing that step, which they missed by just a second in the final for the bronze medal, lost on the buzzer against Marcel De Souza and Oscar Schmidt’s Brazil.

For Georgia, however, it was their overall debut in the finals of a basketball World Cup. The red and white national team, coached by the Greek national, Ilias Zouros, will play its opening games in Japan and has been placed in Group F together with Slovenia, Cape Verde and Venezuela. They will make their debut on Saturday, 26 August at the Okinawa Arena against Cape Verde. The Georgians are a high-level basketball team that showed all the quality of its players in the qualifying phases. First time at a World Cup, but always present in the last five editions of the European Championships.

Macron is providing its two national teams with garments that represent the height of technicality and performance. Made from Eco Fabric, a 100% polyester fabric made from recycled plastic, they are meticulously designed. They express a sense of belonging to one’s colours and history together with passion, commitment and a winning spirit, but also sensitivity to sustainability issues and respect for the environment.

“We are proud to be the technical partners of two national teams representing their country in the most prestigious event in the world of basketball,” said Gianluca Pavanello, Macron’s CEO. “We wish them the best of luck so that they can reap the best results and I'm sure that the values and meaning contained in the Macron Hero will accompany and inspire them in this World Cup adventure.”