Italy team for EuroBasket 2022 qualification

Italy
2020-21 season
President	Gianni Petrucci
Head coach	Romeo Sacchetti
Qualifiers	Scheduled
PIR leader	Giampaolo Ricci 22.5
Scoring leader	Giampaolo Ricci 18.5
Rebounding leader	Giampaolo Ricci 5.5
Assists leader	Marco Spissu 9
Highest home attendance	4000 vs Russia ; (20 February 2020)
Lowest home attendance	4000 vs Russia ; (20 February 2020)
Average home attendance	4000 vs Russia ; (20 February 2020)
Biggest win	83–64 vs Russia; (20 February 2020)
Home	Away
	← 2019 World Cup TBA →
	All statistics correct as of February 23, 2020.

The Italy team for EuroBasket 2021 qualification will represent Italy at the EuroBasket 2021 qualification. Italy has already qualified for the EuroBasket 2021 being one of the host countries.

Timeline

20–23 February 2020: The first window
27–30 November 2020: The second window
18–21 February 2021: The third window

Roster

The following 16 players were called by coach Meo Sacchetti for the first two games against Russia and Estonia on 20th and 23rd of February 2020.^[1] Andrea Pecchia was originally called, forming a delegation of 16 players, but due to a sprained ankle, he couldn't join the team in the first qualification period.^[2] He was replaced by Matteo Tambone.^[3] The Venezia players De Nicolao and Tonut had to leave the team, as well, due to light injuries.^[4]

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
PG	4	Leonardo Candi	24 – (1997-03-30)30 March 1997	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia
SG	7	Stefano Tonut	27 – (1993-11-07)7 November 1993	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	Umana Reyer Venezia
SG	12	Diego Flaccadori	25 – (1996-04-05)5 April 1996	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	Dolomiti Energia Trento
PG	14	Bruno Mascolo	25 – (1996-03-24)24 March 1996	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	Bertram Derthona Basket
C	16	Amedeo Tessitori	26 – (1994-10-07)7 October 1994	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Virtus Bologna
PG	18	Matteo Spagnolo	18 – (2003-01-10)10 January 2003	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	Vanoli Cremona
F	19	Raphael Gaspardo	28 – (1993-08-03)3 August 1993	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)	Happy Casa Brindisi
PF	20	Mattia Udom	27 – (1993-11-17)17 November 1993	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	Happy Casa Brindisi
SG	22	Giordano Bortolani	20 – (2000-12-02)2 December 2000	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	NutriBullet Treviso
SG	31	Michele Vitali (C)	30 – (1991-10-31)31 October 1991	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Umana Reyer Venezia
C	34	Mouhamet Diouf	20 – (2001-09-10)10 September 2001	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	UNAHOTELS Reggio Emilia
SF	44	Davide Alviti	25 – (1996-11-05)5 November 1996	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	AX Armani Exchange Milano
PF	45	Nicola Akele	24 – (1997-11-07)7 November 1997	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	NutriBullet Treviso
SF	50	Gabriele Procida	19 – (2002-06-01)1 June 2002	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	Fortitudo Kigili Bologna
PF	52	Alessandro Lever	22 – (1998-12-04)4 December 1998	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	Allianz Pallacanestro Trieste
PG	54	Alessandro Pajola	21 – (1999-11-09)9 November 1999	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	Virtus Bologna

Head coach

Meo Sacchetti

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
Club – describes last
club before the competition
Age – describes age
on 29 November 2021

While the following player where called for backup. Matteo Tambone was initially in the reserves list, but then moved to the main team because of Pecchia's injury.

Italy national basketball team – FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers reserves

Players

Pos.	Name	Age – Date of birth	Height	Club
SG	Luca Campogrande	23 – (1996-04-30)30 April 1996	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	New Basket Brindisi
PG	Leonardo Candi	22 – (1997-03-30)30 March 1997	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	Pallacanestro Reggiana
PF	Raphael Gaspardo	26 – (1993-08-03)3 August 1993	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)	New Basket Brindisi

Staff

Position	Staff member	Age	Team
Head coach	Romeo Sacchetti	71	Vanoli Cremona
Assistant coaches	Emanuele Molin	64	Aquila Trento
	Massimo Maffezzoli	48	Eurobasket Roma
	Paolo Conti	54	Italian Basketball Federation
Physical trainer	Matteo Panichi	51	Italian Basketball Federation
Physician	Sandro Senzameno	72	Italian Basketball Federation
Orthopaedic	Raffaele Cortina	64	Italian Basketball Federation
Osteopath	Roberto Oggioni	49	Italian Basketball Federation
Osteopath	Francesco Ciallella	44	Italian Basketball Federation
Team manager	Massimo Valle	58	Italian Basketball Federation
Press officer	Francesco D'Aniello	43	Italian Basketball Federation
Manager	Roberto Brunamonti	65	Italian Basketball Federation
Video maker	Marco Cremonini	36	Italian Basketball Federation
Equipment manager	Curzio Garofoli	54	Italian Basketball Federation
Equipment manager	Andrea Annessa	50	Italian Basketball Federation

Source: [1]

Qualification

The draw was held on 22 July 2019 in Munich, Germany. Italy was drawn into Group B with Finland, Georgia and Russia.^[5] These matches will be played in three windows from 17 to 25 February 2020; from 23 November to 1 December 2020 and from 15 to 23 February 2021 with two games played by each team in every window.^[6].^[7]

Group B

vs Russia

Leonardo Totè had incurred in an injury on the right eye the same day of the match and, because of the FIBA regulation, he couldn't be replaced.^[8]

20 February 2019 1	Italy	83–64	Russia	Naples, Italy
20:30 (GMT+1)	Scoring by quarter: 26-24, 15-9, 21-18, 21-13
Livebasketball.tv, Sky Sport Arena	Pts: Ricci 19 Rebs: Ricci, Fontecchio 7 Asts: Spissu 10 PIR: Ricci 22	Boxscore	Pts: Kulagin 17 Rebs: Antipov 6 Asts: Kulagin 8 PIR: Antipov 20	Arena: PalaBarbuto Attendance: 4000 Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Martin Vulic (CRO), Fernando Calatrava (ESP)

Starters:			Pts	Reb	Ast

PG	0	Marco Spissu	10	4	10
SG	31	Michele Vitali	15	4	3
SF	13	Simone Fontecchio	10	7	1
PF	17	Giampaolo Ricci	19	7	1
C	16	Amedeo Tessitori	6	5	3
Reserves:
PG	18	Matteo Spagnolo	3	1	1
SG	22	Giordano Bertolani	3	0	0
PF	24	Filippo Baldi Rossi	7	3	0
PG	25	Michele Ruzzier	7	2	2
SG	30	Matteo Tambone	0	0	0
C	35	Leonardo Totè	DNP
PF	45	Nicola Akele	3	4	0
Head coach:
Romeo Sacchetti

Italy

Russia

0

Italy	Statistics	Russia
	Statistics
18/33 (54.5%)	2-pt field goals	12/27 (44.4%)
13/26 (50.0%)	3-pt field goals	9/30 (30.0%)
8/13 (61.5%)	Free throws	13/19 (68.4%)
9	Offensive rebounds	4
32	Defensive rebounds	22
41	Total rebounds	26
21	Assists	15
20	Turnovers	14
6	Steals	9
3	Blocks	2
21	Fouls	22

Starters:			Pts	Reb	Ast

PG	19	Ivan Strebkov	0	1	2
SG	22	Dmitry Kulagin	17	2	8
SF	7	Vitaly Fridzon	6	1	1
PF	32	Pavel Antipov	14	6	1
C	8	Vladimir Ivlev	10	3	0
Reserves:
PG	2	Andrei Sopin	0	0	0
SG	4	Evgeny Baburin	0	2	0
PG	5	Denis Zakharov	6	1	0
PG	6	Grigory Motovilov	10	1	1
PF	21	Stanislav Ilnitskiy	0	1	2
C	31	Evgeny Valiev	3	3	0
C	64	Artem Klimenko	0	0	0
Head coach:
Sergei Bazarevich

@ Estonia

23 February 2019 2	Estonia	81–87	Italy	Tallinn, Estonia
19:00 (GMT+2)	Scoring by quarter: 18-18, 29-23, 14-18, 20-28
Livebasketball.tv, Sky Sport HD	Pts: Kitsing 22 Rebs: Jõesaar 9 Asts: Kullamäe 6 PIR: Kitsing 22	Boxscore	Pts: Vitali 22 Rebs: Ricci, Vitali, Akele 4 Asts: Spissu 8 PIR: Ricci 23	Arena: Saku Suurhall Attendance: 7500 Referees: Aleksandar Glisić (SRB), Martin Horozov (BGR), Andrei Sharapa (BLR)

Starters:			Pts	Reb	Ast

PG	77	Kristian Kullamäe	17	2	6
SG	2	Sander Raieste	3	5	1
SF	21	Janari Jõesaar	7	9	2
PF	11	Siim-Sander Vene	21	5	2
C	33	Kristjan Kitsing	22	3	1
Reserves:
SF	0	Henri Drell	5	1	0
PF	3	Kregor Hermet	2	1	1
SG	4	Rain Veideman	2	2	1
SF	13	Kaspar Treier	0	1	0
C	20	Rauno Nurger	2	1	0
PG	22	Martin Dorbek	0	0	0
PG	44	Kerr Kriisa	0	1	5
Head coach:
Jukka Toijala

Estonia

Italy

0

Estonia	Statistics	Italy
	Statistics
15/31 (48.4%)	2-pt field goals	21/32 (65.6%)
13/36 (36.1%)	3-pt field goals	10/26 (38.5%)
12/14 (85.7%)	Free throws	15/18 (83.3%)
16	Offensive rebounds	10
17	Defensive rebounds	20
33	Total rebounds	30
19	Assists	20
18	Turnovers	16
8	Steals	10
3	Blocks	3
20	Fouls	18

Starters:			Pts	Reb	Ast

PG	0	Marco Spissu	9	2	8
SG	31	Michele Vitali	22	4	1
SF	13	Simone Fontecchio	9	3	1
PF	17	Giampaolo Ricci	18	4	6
C	16	Amedeo Tessitori	6	2	0
Reserves:
PG	18	Matteo Spagnolo	0	0	0
SG	22	Giordano Bertolani	DNP
PF	24	Filippo Baldi Rossi	10	2	1
PG	25	Michele Ruzzier	2	1	2
SG	30	Matteo Tambone	0	2	0
PF	45	Nicola Akele	8	4	0
C	55	Francesco Candussi	3	3	1
Head coach:
Romeo Sacchetti

vs North Macedonia

27 November 2019 3	Italy	vs.	North Macedonia	Italy

@ Russia

30 November 2019 4	Russia	vs.	Italy	Russia

vs Estonia

18 February 2019 5	Italy	vs.	Estonia	Italy

@ North Macedonia

21 February 2019 6	North Macedonia	vs.	Italy	North Macedonia

Statistics

Individual statistics

No.	Player	GC	GP	GS	MPG	2FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	EF	PPG
0	Marco Spissu	2	2	2	29.4	60.0% (1.5/2.5)	33.3% (1.5/4.5)	80.0% (2.0/2.5)	3.0	9.0	1.5	0.0	16.0	9.5
13	Simone Fontecchio	2	2	2	29.3	40.0% (2.0/5.0)	50.0% (1.5/3.0)	100% (1.0/1.0)	5.0	1.0	1.5	0.5	10.5	9.5
16	Amedeo Tessitori	2	2	2	11.9	100% (2.0/2.0)	-	57.1% (2.0/3.5)	3.5	1.5	0.5	0.5	7.0	6.0
17	Giampaolo Ricci	2	2	2	30.8	58.3% (3.5/6.0)	58.3% (3.5/6.0)	100% (1.0/1.0)	5.5	3.5	1.5	1.0	22.5	18.5
18	Matteo Spagnolo	2	2	0	7.8	33.3% (0.5/1.5)	-	100% (0.5/0.5)	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.5	1.5
22	Giordano Bortolani	2	1	0	3.9	-	100% (1.0/1.0)	-	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.0
24	Filippo Baldi Rossi	2	2	0	13.6	58.3% (3.6/6.0)	25.0% (0.5/2.0)	-	2.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	7.5	8.5
25	Michele Ruzzier	2	2	0	15.4	50.0% (1.0/2.0)	33.3% (0.5/1.5)	50.0% (1.0/2.0)	1.5	2.0	0.5	0.0	3.0	4.5
30	Matteo Tambone	2	2	0	4.9	-	0.0% (0.0/0.5)	-	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-0.5	0.0
31	Michele Vitali	2	2	2	32.5	70.0% (3.5/5.0)	38.5% (2.5/6.5)	80.0% (4.0/5.0)	4.0	2.0	1.0	0.0	18.5	18.5
35	Leonardo Totè	1	0	0	0.0	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
45	Nicola Akele	2	2	0	19.5	80.0% (2.0/2.5)	50.0% (0.5/1.0)	-	4.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	9.0	5.5
55	Francesco Candussi	1	1	0	5.8	-	100% (1.0/1.0)	-	3.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	7.0	3.0

Individual game highs

	Total	Player	Opponent
Points	22	Michele Vitali	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Total Rebounds	7	Simone Fontecchio Giampaolo Ricci	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
Assists	10	Marco Spissu	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
Blocks	2	Giampaolo Ricci	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Steals	3	Simone Fontecchio	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Efficiency	23	Giampaolo Ricci	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
2-point field goal percentage¹	80% (4/5)	Michele Vitali	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
3-point field goal percentage	100% (1/1)	Giordano Bertolani	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
3-point field goal percentage	100% (1/1)	Francesco Candussi	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Free throw percentage	100% (4/4)	Amedeo Tessitori	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Turnovers	5	Amedeo Tessitori	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
Minutes	34.4	Michele Vitali	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)

¹– at least 5 attempts

	Total	Player	Opponent
2-point field goals made	5	Filippo Baldi Rossi	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
2-point field goals attempted	7	Giampaolo Ricci	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
2-point field goals attempted	7	Filippo Baldi Rossi	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
3-point field goals made	4	Giampaolo Ricci	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
3-point field goals attempted	8	Giampaolo Ricci	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Free throws made	7	Michele Vitali	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Free throws attempted	8	Michele Vitali	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Offensive Rebounds	3	Giampaolo Ricci	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
Defensive Rebounds	7	Simone Fontecchio	vs Russia (20/2/2020)

Team game highs

Statistic	Total	Opponent
Points	87	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Total Rebounds	41	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
Assists	21	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
Blocks	3	vs Russia (20/2/2020) @ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Steals	8	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Efficiency	87	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
2-point field goal percentage	54.5%	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
3-point field goal percentage	50.0%	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
Free throw percentage	85.7%	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Turnovers	20	vs Russia (20/2/2020)

Statistic	Total	Opponent
2-point field goals made	18	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
2-point field goals attempted	33	vs Russia (20/2/2020)
3-point field goals made	13	vs Russia (20/2/2020) @ Estonia (23/2/2020)
3-point field goals attempted	36	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Free throws made	12	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Free throws attempted	14	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Offensive Rebounds	16	@ Estonia (23/2/2020)
Defensive Rebounds	32	vs Russia (20/2/2020)

References

^ "FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers I 16 convocati per il raduno di Napoli (17 febbraio). La linea verde di coach Sacchetti: "Costruire per il futuro"" (in Italian). fip.it. 4 February 2020.
^ "Andrea Pecchia non parteciperà al raduno di Napoli (distorsione alla caviglia). Dino Meneghin Capo Delegazione Azzurro a Tallinn" (in Italian). fip.it. 10 February 2020.
^ "Matteo Tambone convocato per il raduno di Napoli e per le gare contro Russia (20/02) ed Estonia (23/02)" (in Italian). fip.it. 12 February 2020.
^ "De Nicolao e Tonut autorizzati a lasciare il raduno. Giovedì 20 febbraio la sfida alla Russia (20.30) PalaBarbuto verso il sold-out" (in Italian). fip.it. 12 February 2020.
^ "Draw results in for FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers". FIBA. 14 August 2019.
^ "Road to World Cup 2019 and EuroBasket 2021" (PDF). FIBA.
^ "Seedings confirmed ahead of FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers Draw". FIBA. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
^ "FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers. Leonardo Totè non prenderà parte al match contro la Russia. Lieve infortunio all'occhio destro" (in Italian). fip.it. 20 February 2020.

External links

Official website
Italy Qualifiers Profile at the FIBA Website

[1] "FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers I 16 convocati per il raduno di Napoli (17 febbraio). La linea verde di coach Sacchetti: "Costruire per il futuro"" (in Italian). fip.it. 4 February 2020.

[2] "Andrea Pecchia non parteciperà al raduno di Napoli (distorsione alla caviglia). Dino Meneghin Capo Delegazione Azzurro a Tallinn" (in Italian). fip.it. 10 February 2020.

[3] "Matteo Tambone convocato per il raduno di Napoli e per le gare contro Russia (20/02) ed Estonia (23/02)" (in Italian). fip.it. 12 February 2020.

[4] "De Nicolao e Tonut autorizzati a lasciare il raduno. Giovedì 20 febbraio la sfida alla Russia (20.30) PalaBarbuto verso il sold-out" (in Italian). fip.it. 12 February 2020.

[5] "Draw results in for FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers". FIBA. 14 August 2019.

[6] "Road to World Cup 2019 and EuroBasket 2021" (PDF). FIBA.

[seed2019-7] "Seedings confirmed ahead of FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers Draw". FIBA. Retrieved 14 August 2019.

[8] "FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers. Leonardo Totè non prenderà parte al match contro la Russia. Lieve infortunio all'occhio destro" (in Italian). fip.it. 20 February 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

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[8]

v t e EuroBasket 2022
Stages	Preliminary round Group A Group B Group C Group D Knockout stage Final
General	Squads Qualification Italy Serbia
Venues	Lanxess Arena (Cologne) Mediolanum Forum (Milan) Mercedes-Benz Arena (Berlin) O2 Arena (Prague) Tbilisi Arena (Tbilisi)
Teams	Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic (host) Estonia Finland France Georgia (host) Germany (host) Great Britain Greece Hungary Israel Italy (host) Lithuania Montenegro Netherlands Poland Serbia Slovenia Spain Turkey Ukraine