(Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail)
Italy suffered a late blow ahead of EuroBasket 2025 as guard Stefano Tonut was ruled out due to a muscle strain, finalizing coach Gianmarco Pozzecco’s 12-man roster.
The 31-year-old sustained the injury during training at the Bologna camp, forcing him to withdraw from the tournament. With Luca Severini already cut from the squad, Riccardo Rossato remains the only player who could potentially miss out before the tournament begins.
Italy now heads into EuroBasket with a settled roster, aiming to return to the podium for the first time since winning bronze at EuroBasket 2003 in Stockholm.
The Azzurri are fine-tuning preparations at the Acropolis Tournament in Athens, where they face Latvia and host nation Greece. Italy has enjoyed a perfect warm-up campaign, winning all four summer friendlies against Iceland, Senegal, Latvia, and Argentina, joining Serbia (6-0) and Lithuania (5-0) among the unbeaten sides. Forward Simone Fontecchio, now with the Miami Heat, has been Italy’s standout performer, averaging 18 points per game, alongside emerging talents Momo Diouf, Matteo Spagnolo, and Giampaolo Ricci.
Italy’s confirmed 12-man roster:
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Darius Thompson (Valencia)
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Marco Spissu (Zaragoza)
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Danilo Gallinari (Bayamon)
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Nicolo Melli (Fenerbahce)
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Simone Fontecchio (Miami Heat)
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Giampaolo Ricci (Milano)
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Matteo Spagnolo (Baskonia)
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Gabriele Procida (Real Madrid)
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Saliou Niang (Virtus)
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Momo Diouf (Virtus)
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Nikola Akele (Virtus)
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Alessandro Pajola (Virtus)
