The first setback in the buildup to the European Championships for Gianmarco Pozzecco and Marco Spissu's Italy, who fell 83-68 to Latvia in the Acropolis Tournament in Athens. It was a difficult night for the Azzurri, forced to play catch-up right from the start and penalized by very poor percentages from beyond the arc: just 2-of-17, compared to the 15-of-31 achieved by the Latvians led by Kristaps Porzingis.
The bright spots came especially from Matteo Spagnolo, the top scorer with 17 points and 3 rebounds, and Momo Diouf, who added 14 with a strong presence under the basket. Saliou Niang also performed well, racking up 6 points and 10 rebounds, 4 of which were offensive, in just under a quarter of an hour. Simone Fontecchio, on the other hand, had a more difficult night, holding him to 9 points on 3-for-15 shooting.
Oaka still had a symbolic moment: Marco Spissu, who scored eight points, surpassed his 500th career goal for Italy. For the occasion, the Sassari point guard chose to wear the number 33 jersey, which belonged to his friend Achille Polonara, who was sidelined by illness and missed this European Championship.
Italy will return to the field tomorrow at 7pm against hosts Greece, their final test before their continental debut, scheduled for August 28th against the Hellenic team.
Latvia-Italy 83-68
Latvia : Mejeris 8, Porzingis 12, Dav. Bertans 12, Come on. Bertans 5, Smits 13, Cavars, Lomazs 6, Steinbergs 3, Skuja 2, Kilps 2, Silins ne, Kurucs 13, Zoriks 7. All. Banchi
Italy : Gallinari (0), Melli (2), Fontecchio (9), Thompson (4), Ricci (4), Spagnolo (17), Procida (6), Niang (6), Spissu (8), Diouf (14), Rossato (0), Akele (8), Pajola (4). Coach: Pozzecco
Partials : 25-16; 42-33; 66-49