Italbasket towards challenges with Turkey and Hungary: two cuts decided by Gianmarco Pozzecco

There are 18 players available to coach Gianmarco Pozzecco

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The coach of the national basketball team, Gianmarco Pozzecco, has reduced, bringing it from 20 to 18, the number of elements that will be at his disposal for the last international window dedicated to Eurobasket 2025 qualifiers. The Azzurri, who are already certain to play in the continental review thanks to the results of the games already played, will face Turkey in Istanbul on Thursday, 20, and against Hungary on Sunday, 23, in Reggio Calabria.

The Azzurri technical staff decided to "cut" Tommaso Baldasso and Davide Moretti from the roster. Thus, Nico Mannion, Dame Sarr, Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, Saliou Niang, Grant Basile, Giordano Bortolani, Francesco Ferrari, Davide Casarin, Guglielmo Caruso, Leonardo Totè, Mouhamet Diouf, Matteo Librizzi, Roccardo Rossato, Luca Severini, Sasha Grant, Nicola Akele and Alessandro Pajola remain available.

The names of the same staff members are unchanged: next to head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco are assistants Davide Casalone, Peppe Poeta and Federico Fucà as well as head coach Gigi Datome. In the first four games, Italy beat Turkey, Hungary and Iceland in the first three days, then got the pass with ample advance in the fourth day despite the knockout in the return against the Icelanders.

Except for three editions (1949, 1961 and 2009), Italy has always participated in the men's European Basketball Championships since their introduction in 1935. Two gold medals, in 1983 and 1999, four silver medals (1937, 1946, 1991, 1997), as many bronze medals (1971, 1975, 1985, 2003). The last participation, in 2022, ended with an eighth place finish.