Italbasket Scores Triple-Digit Victory in Iceland: The Race to the World Cup Continues

The Italian national basketball team secured a crucial victory in Reykjavik on the fifth day of the first qualifying round for the 2027 World Cup: The game against Iceland ended 103-82—a contest that was truly in doubt only in the first quarter—decided by a brilliant team effort from the players led, during this international window, by Marco Ramondino.

Although led by Hermansson with 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, the hosts did not pose much of a threat to the Azzurri, who were led by Baldasso’s 16 points, Tessitori and Tonut’s 15 each, and Mannion’s 14 (the future SPQR player also had 6 assists). Spagnolo also reached double figures, finishing with 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists.

The box score also lists 9 points for Procida and 5 each for Candi, Emejuru, Ferrari, and Rossato, while Akele and Ricci did not score but recorded one and four rebounds, respectively. For Italy, counting the friendlies played against Slovenia and Croatia in late June and the previous qualifying games, this marks the sixth consecutive victory—the last three of which were achieved without Luca Banchi on the bench, due to personal issues that forced the head coach to temporarily hand over the reins to his assistant.

The Azzurri’s next game is scheduled for July 5 in Bologna against Lithuania: a crucial match to finish the first round on a high note, especially since in the second (in which Turkey, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have already secured their spots, along with Lithuania and Italy themselves), the qualified teams will carry over the points earned in the previous phase.