Italy will compete at the FIBA World Cup for the tenth time in a row. Can Gianmarco Pozzecco continue to work wonders with the national team? Read about it in this article.
The question that arises by itself is how Italy will see off Luigi Datome into basketball retirement. The veteran announced that he will retire at the end of the World Cup, while Nico Mannion will not go to Mundobasket due to his physical condition.
FIBA World Cup – Italy: Previous editions and the best results of the national team
This will be the first time since 1990 that Italy will compete “back to back” at the FIBA World Cup. On two occasions, they managed to win silver medal at the Olympic Games, and they also have two Eurobasket titles in their showcases.
However, the World Cup is not a place where Italy had success in the past. They finished fourth on two occasions at that is their best result. It was in 1970 and 1978. They passed the first round in China four years ago, but with defeats against Spain and Serbia, they ended the competition without qualifying for the quarterfinals.
FIBA World Cup – Italy: Road to Mundobasket
In the first part of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, they played five games. Italy celebrated against Iceland, and twice against Netherlands, while they lost to Russia and Iceland. With Russia’s results annulled for well-known reasons, Italy finished at 3-1.
The second round was routine for Pozzecco’s team. With the same score as Spain (8-2), they qualified for the FIBA World Cup. In the last game in the qualifiers, they outplayed the “Red Fury” by 72:68 in Caceres.
FIBA World Cup – Italy: Roster and focus on those who are expected the most
Simone Fontecchio will be the key figure of the Italian national team at this World Cup. In the previous two competitions, he led the team in points with an average of 19.4 (Olympic Games and Eurobasket).
His “rookie” season in the NBA is behind him. In the 52 games played, he spent an average of only 15 minutes per game. During that time, he scored 6.3 points with 1.7 rebounds, and slightly less than one assist. During the qualifiers, Fontecchio played for national team on three occasions with 21 points on average.
He is coming to the FIBA World Cup to lead his national team, but also to show the Utah Jazz that he deserves more minutes on the floor. Currently, there is no better place to prove it.
Nicolo Melli, Achille Polonara, Alessandro Pajola and Stefano Tonut share the experience of playing for Italy. The first of them is able to outsmart any rival when he is healthy. At last year’s competition, Melli was the team’s second scorer and rebounder, plus third assistant. During the qualifiers, he played only two games, but with an average of 14.5 points and five rebounds.
Polonara is able to seamlessly fill all the statistical columns, with an adequate effort in defense. One of the most hated by the fans of the Serbian national team is certainly Marco Spissu. In the triumph against “Eagles” at the previous European Championship, he made six three-pointers from nine attempts, and he almost became a hero against France, after Italy was defeated despite 20 points from the Italian guard.
Giampaolo Ricci and the aforementioned captain Luigi Datome are representatives of Olimpia Milano. Tortona basketball player Luca Severini is also option at forward position. Under the rim, options for Pozzecco will be Mouhamet Diouf and Guglielmo Caruso. One of them will have to make an additional step forward, in order for Italy to justify its intentions.
Finally, it is necessary to mention Gabriele Procida. The great talent of Italian basketball had a more than solid season in Alba Berlin and could use this tournament to show all his magnificent potential.
![Angola](https://basketballsphere.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Angola.png)
Italy 16-man roster list:
Marco Spissu, Nico Mannion, Stefano Tonut, Nicolo Melli, Simone Fontecchio, Giampaolo Ricci, Matteo Spagnolo, Guglielmo Caruso, Achille Polonara, Mouhamet Diouf, Riccardo Visconti, Luca Severini, Gabriele Procida, Tomas Woldetensae, Alessandro Pajola, Luigi Datome.
The Azzurri had hopes that the promising Paolo Banchero could play for their national team, but he ultimately opted for the USA selection.
After that, Italy turned to Anadolu Efes new player Darius Thompson, but the problem was getting the passport in time.
FIBA World Cup- Italy: More about head coach – Gianmarco Pozzecco
The extremely energetic expert on the Italian bench was born in 1972. He didn’t hide all that passion and emotion he shows during games even as a player. Extremely famous and adored by the Italian nation, he enthusiastically took over the national team a year ago.
He started coaching in 2012, and the video of him celebrating his first win in Serie A as coach of Varese remains in the memory. What has gone around the world relatively recently is related to the already mentioned game against Serbia.
In addition to Italy’s triumph, it was Pozzecco who turned the game around with his ejection and refusal to go to the locker room. After the victory, Giannis Antetokounmpo was in the tunnel, and head coach of Italy jumped him and continued to celebrate the win with a smile.
In his coaching career, he won two trophies. Both as head coach of Dinamo Sassari. In addition to the Italian Super Cup in 2019, in the same season Pozzecco’s “gang” lifted the FIBA Europe Cup trophy.
As a player, he won Serie A twice, as well as the Super Cup, while in 2004 he was a member of the Italian national team that won silver medal at the Olympic Games. In the final game, they were outplayed by the legendary Argentina selection.
FIBA World Cup – Italy: Expectations
When it comes to Italy’s group at the World Cup, they were placed with one of the three hosts, the Philippines. They will play their Group A games there, in Manila. In addition to Philippines, the rivals are Dominican Republic and Angola.
It is clear that the “Azzurri” are the first favorites in Group A. However, the clash against Dominican Republic will be crucial for the further course of Mundobasket. Advancing to the next stage will certainly not be questioned. In case they are defeated by Karl-Anthony Towns and teammates, it will be necessary for them to check their ticket to the quarter-finals “via” beating Serbia.
For Italy, the primary goal is to reach the knockout stage, and then they will need a bit of luck. USA is one of two potential rivals in that phase of the FIBA World Cup, and that is an opponent you don’t want across from you.