Italy finalize World Cup roster lineup / News - Basketnews.com

Following Italy's last friendly game on home soil, the team's roster has been trimmed down to 12 men who will travel to Asia for two more scrimmages and the World Cup.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Italy dominated Puerto Rico (98-65) in Ravenna on Sunday evening, racking up their fifth consecutive win ahead of the World Cup.

Before, during and after the game, captain Gigi Datome received an affectionate tribute from 4.000 fans at the Pala De Andre in what the Italian federation had called "DatHome day," in recognition of the veteran swingman's contribution to Italian basketball.

Datome, 36, scored 5 points in his last game in his home country, but Simone Fontecchio and Gabriele Procida put up 16 points apiece, while Matteo Spagnolo (15) and Stefano Tonut (10) followed. For the two ALBA Berlin players, that was their career-high with the national team.

At the end of the match, coach Gianmarco Pozzecco made the final cuts before the World Cup that tips off on August 25. Tomas Woldetensae and Guglielmo Caruso were allowed to leave the camp.

Therefore, the 12 Azzurri who will take part in the FIBA Cup 2023 in the Philippines have been chosen:

Gigi Datome Marco Spissu Stefano Tonut Nicolo Melli Simone Fontecchio Giampaolo Ricci Matteo Spagnolo Achille Polonara Mouhamet Diouf Luca Severini Gabriele Procida Alessandro Pajola

"I thank Tomas and Guglielmo. They are two great players and two great guys," Pozzecco said of the players who didn't enter the court in the team's last friendly game.

The Azzurri will have two days of rest and will meet in Rome, on Wednesday to depart for Asia on August 17. Their first stop will be in Shenzhen, China, for the last two friendlies before the debut at the World Cup. They'll play Brazil on 20 August and New Zealand one day later.

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