The final stage of the journey towards the European Championship brought another defeat for Marco Spissu's Italian basketball team . After the defeat against Latvia, Gianmarco Pozzecco's team was also defeated by Greece (76-74) in Athens , thus ending the Acropolis Tournament without a win. Attention now turns to Cyprus, where Italy will debut against the Greeks on August 28th.
The start was encouraging: intense defense, good ball circulation, and a ten-point lead at halftime (40-30). However, the balance shifted in the second half: a slow third quarter (27-12 for the home team) and too many turnovers—18 at the buzzer—complicated the final quarter, decided by a few misses from the arc and the Greeks' greater consistency.
Simone Fontecchio confirmed his position as the Italian's top scorer with 18 points, despite his poor shooting percentages (6/17). Saliou Niang also had a good performance (14 points and 6 rebounds), while Alessandro Pajola contributed 9 points and 7 assists, and Nicolò Melli finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Sassari point guard Marco Spissu had 8 points. For Greece, Tyler Dorsey (14 points) took center stage, supported by Papanikolaou and Toliopoulos.
Greece-Italy 76-74
Greece : Dorsey 14, Larentzakis 2, Toliopoulos 10, Kalaitzakis 10, Papanikoloaou 11, Katsivelis 6, Samontourov 3, Chougkaz ne, Zougris 4, K. Antetokounmpo 9, T. Antetokounmpo 7, Netzipoglou, Bazinas ne. Coach Spanoulis
Italy : Melli 9, Fontecchio 18, Thompson 4, Ricci, Spagnolo 4, Procida 1, Niang 14, Spissu 8, Diouf, Rossato ne, Akele 7, Pajola 9. Coach Pozzecco
Partials : 16-20; 30-40; 52-57
