Italbasket, test with Spain before Pre-Olympics
Italy-Spain on June 25 in Madrid
A luxury friendly for the national basketball team led by coach Gianmarco Pozzecco: Spain-Italy in Madrid on Tuesday, June 25. It will be a great classic of European National basketball to close the preparation of the Azzurri before the’debut at the Pre-Olympic Tournament San Juan.
After the match against Georgia in Trent on June 23, Italy will then fly to the Spanish capital to face the Iberians at the WiZink Center, a 15,000-plus-seat facility that hosts Real Madrid’s home games in the Euroleague. On June 26, the departure for Miami in the USA, where the Azzurri will undergo two days of training before moving, on June 29, to the island of Puerto Rico. Pre-Olympic debut scheduled for July 2 against Bahrain.
Like Italy, the Spaniards are also in the hunt for one of the last four spots available for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. They will try to qualify by hosting a Pre-Olympic Tournament in Valencia (July 2/7). Also in the Iberians’ bracket are Lebanon and Angola. In’the other mini-giron Bahamas, Finland and Poland.
The big match against coach Sergio Scariolo ’s Spain will be challenge number 68 between the two teams, which return to face each other after the 2023 World Cup qualifying doubleheader (defeat in overtime at home in Pesaro and victory away in Caceres). The first two all-time meetings, under coach Elliott Van Zandt, took place in 1950 at the Nice Tournament: 41-35 on January 5 (12 points for Sergio Stefanini and 10 for Federico Marietti) and 44-36 three days later (14 Stefanini and 10 Carlo Cerioni).
Twelfth time since 1952 in Madrid for Italy, which returns to the Spanish capital after three games in the second phase of’EuroBasket 2007. In total for the Azzurri 7 wins and 4 losses. Fourth time ever against Spain after the very first one, precisely in 1952 (51-57 Italy), the one in 1969 (62-66 Italy) and the 87-69 defeat at the World Cup 1986.
