Tortona, November 27, 2025 – Luca Banchi’s adventure on the Italian basketball bench begins with a defeat: In fact, in the first match of Group D of the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, the Azzurri were defeated 81-76 by Iceland. A defeat that came at the end of a match that saw Iceland lead for a long time, pushed by a Hlinason was unmarkable at times in the paint (16 points and 7 rebounds) and from a Fridriksson tarantulated (29 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds). Nothing to do for the Azzurri, who seemed to have turned the inertia of the match around between the third and fourth quarter with a flash of brilliance fueled by the baskets of Gabriele Procida (author of 16 points, three less than the 19 brought home by Davide Casarin, the Italian top scorer), but then paid dearly for some bloody errors in the final point-by-point. On Sunday, the Azzurri will return to the field away to Lithuania, looking to redeem themselves and win a match that is already quite important on the road to the World Championship.
The story of the race
Italy, starting with the debutant Ferrari in the starting five, needed a few minutes to release the tension and get to grips with Iceland, who started with a 5-0 lead. It was Casarin’s one-two free throws – who scored 12 points in the first 10 minutes – that unlocked the Azzurri, who then suddenly increased the pace of transition and responded with a 12-0 break for the counter-overtaking and the +7 (12-5). On the other side, however, Iceland does not lose ground and relies on Hlinason’s height to keep up the pace (14-13). Gunnarson ties the score at 16, re-establishing a balance that remains unchanged until the first siren sounds (21-21). After the mini-interval, things get complicated for Italy again: Iceland starts again with a 5-0 that puts them back in front and forces Della Valle and his teammates to chase. Coach Banchi’s men are no longer able to push the transition and collect important rebounds. Even from the three-point shot (3/17 initially in the first 20′ against Iceland’s 6/13), there are no convincing answers and so the guests have the possibility of keeping the lead in the match. – with Hlinason at times a real unsolvable puzzle for the Italian basketball defense – until the moment of returning to the locker rooms, where they arrive with a four-point lead (34-38).
Upon returning to the court, Italy tried to cling tooth and nail to an Iceland team that, capitalizing on the Italians’ long-range shooting difficulties, clogged the paint with Hlinason, who also continued to be a thorn in the Italians’ side in attack. The Bilbao big man took advantage and made valuable free throws to launch Iceland’s new breakaway attempt, which, also spurred on by an inspired Steinarsson, raised the bar for its maximum lead. up to double digits, reached at 51-61It was Procida’s shots from beyond the 6.75-meter arc that gave Italy the long-awaited jolt and, taking advantage of Hlinason’s temporary return to the bench to catch his breath, they even got back to within 2 (61-63) at the start of the fourth quarter, putting pressure on Iceland once again.
The Procida show But it’s not over yet, because the 2002-born forward carries the Italian team on his shoulders and, with 7′ to go, dunks the basket to give the Italians the lead, before also scoring the bomb for 68-64. (the third in a very short span of time), which forced coach Pedersen to take a timeout. Left without their captain Steinarrson, sidelined by an ankle problem, Iceland still managed not to capitulate and With 45″ left, Fridriksson scored the counterattack with a three-point play who then, after the very serious errors by Tonut in transition and Baldasso from the arc, secured the Icelandic victory with four close free throws.