Italbasket, World Championship Mission: Luca Banchi Has Made His Choice
Following their victory in a friendly match against Estonia in Trento at the conclusion of their summer training camp, the Italian national basketball team reconvened under head coach Luca Banchi on Monday in Pesaro: The city in the Marche region will serve as the team’s headquarters, where they will prepare for the first two games of the decisive phase of World Cup qualifying: on August 28 in Tuzla against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on August 31 at the Vitrifrigo Arena against Serbia.
As confirmed by an official statement released by the FIP, Coach Banchi has authorized Riccardo Rossato to remain with his club team rather than join the national squad; consequently, the coaching staff will have fifteen players at their disposal for this phase of training. Italy enters this new phase of the qualifiers after advancing from the first round with the best record in Group D, posting five wins and one loss.
Below are the fifteen players featured in this phase of the Azzurri’s summer campaign:
#1 Nico Mannion – Point Guard, 2001, BC Roma SPQR
#4 Leonardo Candi – Guard, 1997, Umana Reyer Venezia
#7 Stefano Tonut – Guard, 1993, Olimpia Milano
#9 Nicolò Melli – Forward/Center, 1991, Fenerbahçe
#13 Simone Fontecchio – Forward, 1995, Miami Heat
#15 Darius Thompson – Point Guard, 1995, Olimpia Milano
#16 Amedeo Tessitori – Center, 1994, Reyer Venezia
#17 Giampaolo Ricci – Forward, 1991, Olimpia Milano
#18 Matteo Spagnolo – Guard, 2003, Baskonia
#20 Saliou Niang – Forward, 2004, Virtus Bologna
#24 Francesco Ferrari – Forward, 2005, Virtus Bologna
#25 Tommaso Baldasso – Guard, 1998, Virtus Bologna
#45 Nicola Akele – Forward, 1995, Olimpia Milano
#48 Giovanni Emejuru – Center, 2002, BC Roma SPQR
#77 John Petrucelli – Guard/Forward, 1992, Napoli
After the games on August 28 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on August 31 against Serbia, Italy will return to the court in November for the qualifiers, facing Turkey at home and Serbia again, this time on the road. The decisive window comes at the end of winter: on February 26, 2027, the Azzurri will host Bosnia and Herzegovina, while on March 1, they will face Turkey on the road.
