The Pre-Olympic Tournament of San Juan in Puerto Rico begins, a fundamental crossroads for Gianmarco’s Italbasket Wellstill on the hunt for the Olympic Pass. This mini tournament will need to be won and it won’t be easy. The Azzurri make their debut at 11.30pm against Bahraina national team never met before and only apparently approachable (it is number 67 in the Fiba ranking). The debut match hides some pitfalls that Italy will have to be good at overcoming: no missteps allowed. The Azzurri come to this match after the successes against Georgia and Spain in friendly matches.
22:32
When will the other Group B match be played?
Puerto Rico-Bahrain, the other challenge of Group B (the one that also includes Italy) will take place on Thursday night at 2:30 Italian time. Group A, on the other hand, will debut tonight with Mexico-Lithuania (2:30) and Lithuania-Ivory Coast, scheduled for tomorrow at 23:30
22:26
Gallinari’s beautiful words about Pozzecco
Our champion spoke about the Italian coach during an interview with our newspaper: “Poz is a unique coach, with whom I get along very well. It’s difficult to find someone like him in the NBA. For this reason I’m holding on to him”. Read the whole interview here
22:15
Italy, the only option is victory
All the teams participating in San Juan have only one way to get to the Olympics: to win. The pass for the Games, in fact, will be awarded only to the National Team that wins this pre-Olympic: there are no other ways
22:01
The most anticipated Azzurri
Pozzecco’s Italy starts this pre-Olympic without Simone Fontecchio, Matteo Spagnolo and Gabriele Procida. Three important absences, without a doubt. However, there will be Danilo Gallinari who can still make the difference with his NBA-level quality (he plays for the Milwaukee Bucks) and his great international experience. Danilo showed good form in the two friendlies against Georgia and Spain
21:36
Pozzecco’s words before Bahrain
The Italian coach Gianmarco Pozzecco, in charge since 2022, spoke like this before the opening match against Bahrain: «The rules in our group are few and very clear. First of all, tolerance. Only by helping each other can we overcome difficulties by going beyond our limits. Although the roster is very different from last year’s, the team has understood the importance of taking something away on an individual level to make it available to the collective. Bahrain, Puerto Rico and the other teams that will eventually follow are part of a path that we want to follow step by step with the awareness that what we have built will help us to face obstacles and try to deserve a historic goal.»
21:33
Pozzecco’s squad for the pre-Olympic
Here is the list of the Azzurri called up by Pozzecco for the pursuit of the Olympic pass: Spissu, Mannion, Abass, Tonut, Gallinari, Melli, Ricci, Bortolani, Caruso, Polonara, Pajola, Petrucelli
21:22
Italy-Bahrain, where to watch it on TV
In addition to the live text on our website, the match will be broadcast live on Dazn and Sky Sport Arena (and streaming on Now) starting at 11.30pm
21:06
Italy’s path to the pre-Olympic
The Azzurri will debut tonight against Bahrain at 11:30 p.m. Then on Friday they will face Puerto Rico (2:30 a.m.). The possible semi-final is scheduled for Saturday (10 p.m. or 1 a.m.), the final is scheduled for Sunday at midnight.
20:59
How the pre-Olympic tournament in San Juan works
Italy has been placed in Group B together with Bahrain and Puerto Rico. In Group A, instead, there are Mexico, Lithuania and Ivory Coast. The first two teams of each group go to the semifinals. The winners of the two semifinals will then face each other in the final. The winner of the tournament will obtain the pass to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
20:49
What to fear about Bahrain?
Italy will have to keep their eyes peeled against a national team they have never faced before. In addition to the winger Chism, they will have to keep an eye on Muamil Ameer Hamooda, another very dangerous international with a good amount of experience. The coach is Jad El Hajj, who was on the bench for Lebanon at the World Cup in the Philippines
20:45
The Pitfalls of Bahrain
There is a name to keep an eye on: the naturalized American Wayne Devon Chism. He is the winger of Bahrain and is the most dangerous opponent of the National team that will challenge Pozzecco’s Italy. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, he is a globetrotter and the best scorer of Bahrain in the first two qualifying games for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025
