Banks: "It was only the first". Achille Polonara was also in Tortona.

Italy loses at home against Iceland and at the end of the game comes coach Banchi’s analysis: “A hard-fought game from the beginning, it was only the first game of this long tournament: at the beginning we paid some tension, then I liked the reaction and determination of our last quarter. Casarin’s fourth foul affected us but paradoxically at that moment we found baskets from the perimeter by Baldasso and Procida that seemed to be able to turn the inertia of the game. Bravo to Iceland for finding Hlinason with continuity and opening up the court, we knew we were facing a proven team that knows itself well”.

“In the final period we lost a bit of lucidity and a couple of mistakes were fatal to us. As we said at the presentation, we must immediately turn the page and think about the challenge in Lithuania, we know that a very challenging qualifying cycle awaits us” adds the Tuscan who took Gianmarco Pozzecco’s place at the helm. On the sidelines, supporting the Azzurri, was also Achille Polonara, the captain who is fighting a courageous battle against leukemia and who was present together with his family in the Piedmontese arena. Also present at Nova Arena were Marco Spissu and Pippo Ricci.

“I have to say that as soon as I walked in my legs were shaking, I was super excited. It’s the second day basically that I’m without a wheelchair, so it’s already a success – stressed to the microphones of Sky Sport the 34-year-old, who was interviewed between the first and second half of the game -. I told my teammates that they are very lucky to be part of this group: I also wanted to be part of it last summer, then unfortunately for obvious reasons I could not be part of it. However, if they are in the national team today, it is because they are the best there are right now, they should be proud of it”.

The best scorer among the Azzurri was Davide Casarin with 19 points (his career high after scoring 10 points against Spain in Caceres on Feb. 25, 2023), also going in double figures were Gabriele Procida (16, career high equaled), Tommaso Baldasso (13), Amedeo Della Valle (10) and Amedeo Tessitori, who in addition to scoring 10 points captured 10 rebounds. Debut with the Senior Jersey for Francesco Ferrari, Matteo Librizzi, Luigi Suigo and Luca Vincini. From Friday, Nico Mannion will also join the training sessions: in the evening both Matteo Librizzi and Diego Garavaglia were allowed to leave the gathering.