Reykjavik. Desire and determination count more than adversity. Italy clearly beat Iceland (71-95) away from home, putting the difficulties of the day before it behind them with a brilliant and convincing team performance, remaining firmly in command even after the scare of the opponent’s 15-0 lead at the start of the third quarter. If the Azzurri were to beat the Icelanders again in Reggio Emilia on Monday evening (8.30pm, live DAZN, Sky Sport Uno and Now) they would be qualified for EuroBasket 2025 with two matches to spare. A debut worth remembering for Grant Basile, top scorer of the day and author of a solid performance of 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 20 minutes. Absolute debut also for Riccardo Rossato (7 points) and Federico Poser (4). Double double for Nicola Akele: 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Career high in the national team for Giordano Bortolani (15). First as Captain of Marco Spissu with 10 points and 8 assists which brings him to 253 served for the national team in 58 appearances.
So coach Casalone, who replaced Gianmarco Pozzecco in the second half: “The coach had a bad headache and wasn’t able to return to the pitch but he’s fine now. We are very happy with the performance offered by the boys, who showed the right spirit by playing a solid and concentrated match. We didn’t have any fluidity at the beginning of the third quarter but then the team put things back on track. Now head to Reggio Emilia.”
Grant Basile and his debut to remember: “For me and my family it is an honor to wear this shirt and tonight was emotional. It was amazing training with these guys and the coaching staff did a great job. It was a great match and I’m happy, I say it once again, to play with Italy written on my chest. We fought and managed to come out of a difficult moment well.”
It’s a nice first quarter for the Azzurri, who after having taken the measures of the Icelanders immediately put themselves in command of the operations. Bortolani’s verve and the experience of Spissu and Tessitori open the way to the energy of the rookies: Riccardo Rossato e Grant Basile they make their debut in the national team one after the other and have a great impact on the match. 4 points for the first and 5 for the second (with a triple) are worth the +15 of the first 10 minutes (12-27). Nicola Akele (4 points and 3 rebounds) and Michele Vitali (2 points and 3 rebounds) also did very well. Definitely positive start also in terms of rebounding: 12-6 Italy.
The protagonist at the start of the second quarter is Davide Moretti: a triple and a free throw after the technical to coach Pedersen mean +20 (13-33) but it’s the whole team that is spinning and it’s really hard for Iceland to find valid offensive solutions. The audience at the Laugardalsholl in Reykjavik tries to cheer on the “Our boys“, but they only manage to move the score from the line. The triples by Bortolani and Spissu make it 42-19. The Italian monologue continues until halftime, which sends the teams to the locker rooms with a round +24 for the guests (25-49).
The second half opens with coach Edoardo Casalone who replaces Pozzecco on the bench, forced not to return to the pitch due to a severe headache. On the parquet, Iceland, as expected, tries to get back into the game with a 15-0 which revitalizes the arena and brings the hosts back to -9 (40-49). It is undoubtedly the most delicate moment of the match but Grant Basile takes care of putting things right: two triples and a free throw that let the Azzurri breathe: with Akele’s free throws they get back to +15 (58-43). At the dawn of the last 10 minutes 65-54 Italy.
Once the scare was over, the team resumed the path of the first half also thanks to a fantastic Nicola Akele who ended with a double double. Debut, with 4 points, too Federico Poser. Time is running out and the dispute is on ice. Heavy victory on the way to European qualification.
The Azzurri will return to Italy on Saturday 23 November. Reggio is ready to welcome Italbasket, hoping it will be a double celebration.
The scoreboard
Iceland-Italy 71-95 (12-27, 13-22, 29-16, 17-30)
Iceland: Steinarsson* 9 (3/4, 1/2), Henningsson 3 (1/1 da 3), Fridriksson* 15 (3/5, 1/6), Jonsson (0/1 da three), Palsson K. 5 (1/2, 1/3), Palsson H.* 3 (0/4 da tre), Gunnarsson 7 (1/2, 1/2), Gudmundsson* 14 (3/4, 2/9), Hlinason* 15 (4/5), Thrastarson S. (0/1), Jonsson ne, Bjornsson (0/1, 0/1). All: Pedersen
Italy: Spissu* 10 (3/6, 1/3), Moretti 6 (1/3, 1/1), Tessitori* 6 (2/5, 0/3), Basile 19 (3/6, 3/8 ), Bortolani* 15 (5/7, 1/5), Vitali* 10 (2/2, 2/2), Rossato 7 (1/2, 1/2), Poser 4 (1/1), Severini* (0/1, 0/1), Alviti 5 (2/2, 0/1), Akele 13 (4/9, 1/2). All: Pozzecco
Two-pointers ISL 15/24, Ita 24/44; Three-pointers ISL 7/29, Ita 10/28; Free throws ISL 20/26, Ita 17/19. Rebounds Isl 30 (8 Hlinason), Ita 43 (10 Akele). Assist Isl 15 (4 Fridriksson, Gudmundsson), Ita 20 (8 Spissu).
5 fouls issued: None
Referees: Boris Krejic (Slovenia), Dariusz Zapolski (Polonia), Josip Jurcevic (Croazia)
Spectators: 2,000
Türkiye-Hungary 92-66 (27-20, 16-17, 19-12, 30-17)
Turchia: Hazer* 25 (7/11, 1/3), Saybir 2 (1/3, 0/1), Osman* 21 (5/7, 3/10), Arslan (0/1 da tre), Tunca 2, Haltali* 8 (4/7), Mutaf 7 (1/2, 1/3), Osmani* 17 (5/8, 2/3), Yasar (0/2), Yilmaz, Sipahi* 10 (1/3, 2/4), Koksal. All: Ataman
Hungary: Pongo (0/1), Keller 4 (1/2, 0/1), Hanga 3 (0/1, 1/4), Vojvodina 9 (4/6, 0/3), Varadi* (0/ 1 to three), Benke* 8 (1/2, 2/4), Bognar ne, Goloman* 11 (3/6), Lukacs ne, Perl* 16 (8/12, 0/1), Filipovity 5 (1/2, 1/5), Reuvers* 10 (4/7, 0/2). All: Okorn
