After the European adventure of the national football team, now it's time to cheer for the Azzurri of basketball, engaged from tonight, at 21 against Tunisia, in the Pre-Olympic Tournament of Turin, with the (almost obligatory) goal of obtaining the pass for Rio de Janeiro. Possibility that Gallinari and his companions earned by reaching the quarter-finals at the last European Championships, at the time almost a consolation, today a fundamental result, which however must be completed in the next eight days. In January, the decision to nominate Italy as one of the three host nations of this Pre-Olympic made everything superfluous, but the Azzurri had nevertheless done their (minimum) duty on the field.
Although Italy is one of the favourites, snatching the plane ticket to Brazil will not be a formality, because the somewhat particular formula of these qualifiers will allow only 3 national teams out of 18 participants to reach the other 9 already present at the now imminent Olympics . The nine already sure to compete in the tournament that will take place from 6 to 21 August are Brazil (host country), Spain and Lithuania (winners and finalists of Euro 2015), the United States (reigning champions), Nigeria (AfroBasket 2015 winner), China (Asia Championship 2015 winner), Argentina and Venezuela (Americas Championship 2015 winner and finalist) and Australia (Oceania Championship 2015 winner). The three that are missing to complete the group of 12 national teams (frankly few since it is an Olympics, however it goes some important teams will be excluded) will come out of these 18: France, Greece, Czech Republic, Serbia and Italy (qualified from the last Europeans) , Angola , Senegal and Tunisia (from the African continent), Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico (from the American continent), the Philippines , Japan and Iran (from the Asian continent), New Zealand (Oceania), plus Latvia, Croatia and Turkey, which have took advantage of the three places vacated by the three host countries (already qualified previously on the field).
The three organizing countries of this Pre-Olympic Tournament are in fact Italy (Turin), Serbia (Belgrade) and the Philippines (Manila), in each of these venues an independent mini-tournament takes place with 6 teams divided into two groups of three, the first two of each mini group pass and then they will compete in the crossed semi-finals and finally there will be the final with the pass to Rio up for grabs. In the tournament that concerns us, with all the matches scheduled at the Palaisozaki in Turin, a venue with more than 16 seats (tickets have all been sold out for months for the Azzurri's matches), Italy is in group B with Croatia and Tunisia, while group A is made up of Greece, Mexico and Iran. Our national team, for talent and with the advantage of the home factor, is the favourites, qualification is within our reach, but it won't be easy and the two main obstacles (Tunisia, Mexico and Iran shouldn't even be taken into consideration, although by now all teams must be respected) are Croatia, who we will meet tomorrow in the second match, and Greece, who we should 99% meet either in the semi-final, or, if everything goes as it should, more probably in the final.
Today's debut couldn't have been easier, given that Tunisia, which can't scare us, can't even count on its most famous player, Sam Mejri (center of the Dallas Mavericks) and the North Africans remain the top-level player naturalized Michael Brandon Roll, Californian guard who closed the season playing the Spanish playoffs with the Vitoria shirt. Of a completely different value is Croatia, whose stars are Bojan Bogdanovic, guard of the Brooklyn Nets, Dario Saric, ready for his debut in the NBA in Philadelphia after showing himself in the last two years with Efes, and Mario Hezonja, the twenty-one grew up in Barcelona already protagonist of an excellent first year overseas with the Orlando Magic. To these must be added the "Italians" and more experienced Simon, one of the leaders of the Milanese championship, Ukic (Cantù) and Stipcevic (Sassari), but not only, a formation therefore with so much talent, dangerous and which we must fear, but which we must beat not so much for the (obvious) passage of the mini group, but if we don't want to meet Greece already in the semi-final and possibly the Croatians again in the final act.
In fact, in the other round the Hellenic national team will command, a formation that on paper is perhaps less scary than in the past, but interesting and partly to be discovered, given that it has lost its symbols Spanoulis and Diamantidis and of the glorious old guard only l former Milanese center Bourousis, protagonist of a great season in Vitoria (with the Euroleague Final Four) and the 31-year-old from Barcelona Perperoglu, both mother hen for the many young talents. Among all, that of the Greak Freak stands out, the 21-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo, unimaginable athletic skills and with enormous room for improvement, already a starlet in the NBA with Milwaukee. With him is his older brother Thanasis (23 years old), returning from a season in the D-League with the affiliate of the New York Knicks. Other better-known names include Calathes, who returned to Panathinaikos after two years with the Memphis Grizzlies, Koufos, now in Sacramento after having already toured several teams on the other side of the ocean and Mantzaris, Olympiacos guard. A team to be evaluated where it can really arrive, certainly neither Iran nor Mexico will be valid tests, the first regulars of international events having won 3 of the last four Asian championships, with an average age of 26 years but with all the elements of the roster who play in the national league, the latter perhaps even more modest, with almost all the players coming from the local league (of a very low level) and with the absence of their strongest player, Real Madrid center Gustavo Anyon.
Returning to Italy, this time the national team cannot miss the goal, as has happened too often in recent years, because, as already said for the previous European championships, this is a team that can count on some of the strongest players of our entire history and is certainly the most talented group of the last 20 years. After the European Championships that had left a bitter taste in our mouths, with all the hopes of waiting that weren't fully confirmed on the field, this group has another year of running-in behind it (even if the weather to play together is always little) and also for this occasion we have all our NBA available, hoping that no injury will deprive us of one of them, as happened with Datome ten months ago.
Obviously they will be guiding us, Gallinari, fully charged after his best NBA season (and finally without injuries), Captain Datome, one of the protagonists of Fenerbahce's great season, Bargnani, still looking for the right team to marry (almost certainly a European big) and Belinelli, who has been in Sacramento for a year, who broke a jaw bone in one of the last friendlies, but who could be on the floor as early as tonight. Immediately behind Alessandro Gentile, who after his second championship won said goodbye to Milan and would like to immediately try an adventure in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, who hold the rights. All five know their potential, but they are also aware that the years pass for them too and now that, especially the Gallo, the Magician and Beli, are in their full maturity, it is time to translate all this into results and victories , because another disappointment would be hard to overcome.
Completing the roster are Hackett, who has returned to important levels at Olympiacos, Melli, who has grown a lot in his excellent first year in Germany with Bamberg and Aradori, one of the protagonists of Reggio's run up to the final against Milan. Under the basket, possibly to give Bargnani a breather too, in addition to the usual Cusin, Cervi was also called up, doing very well this year in Avellino, while the last to get a place were Poeta, in his role coming back from a better season than in that of Cinciarini in Milan, and, somewhat surprisingly, Tonut, the twenty-three-year-old guard who made great strides in the last season with Venice. In addition to Polonara, not even called up for the pre-training period, important elements were therefore left out such as Della Valle, who probably pays for his physique internationally but who deserved a place in the 12 for what he did in the league with Reggio, Abass and Pascolo, both new signings from Milan and among the best of last season with Cantù and Trento (with Pascolo super often also in Europe). Sorry for them, but the future will certainly see them protagonists with the blue tank top, while the immediate future, as mentioned, will depend on our magnificent five.
It starts in a few hours, then tomorrow, again at 21, the second match against Croatia, Wednesday it will be the turn of Croatia-Tunisia, Thursday there will be a day of rest, before the two semi-finals on Friday and the final on Saturday 9 July .
Practically the same program also for the other two tournaments, that of Belgrade and that of Manila. In the one in the Serbian capital, with the matches taking place in the Kombank Arena, a 25-seat facility, the two mini groups are made up of Serbia, Angola, Puerto Rico and Japan, the Czech Republic and Latvia. The super favorite is the home team, with only the Czech Republic (one of the surprises at the last European Championships) which could be able to put up a minimum of resistance. In the capital of the Philippines, the host national team is in the mini group with France and New Zealand, in the other there are Turkey, Senegal and Canada. Here the qualification, barring surprises, should go to France (fresh from the disappointment of ten months ago with the missed home final), clearly the strongest, but which in the semifinal and eventual final will have to contend (excluding Senegal) with an always grumpy opponent like the Turkish formation and the North American team, a basketball movement that has grown a lot in recent years and which in the future will be increasingly competitive, but which for this occasion will have to do without the best of all, Andew Wiggins, the 21-year-old from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland's first overall pick in the 2014 draft, who decided to rest after the efforts of the NBA season and in view of the next one. The two main players will then be Cory Joseph (Toronto Raptors) and Tyler Ennis (Milwaukee Bucks), among the squad also the two "Italians" Heslip and Ejim, seen respectively in Cantù and Venice in recent months.
