Sacchetti adds four names in latest Italy World Cup Qualifiers squad
ROME (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Italy coach Meo Sacchetti has announced his latest squad ahead of February's World Cup Qualifiers with all of the standouts from November's wins over Romania and Croatia, and four newcomers.
Amedeo Della Valle, Alessandro Gentile, Luca Vitali, Awudu Abass, Pietro Aradori, Ariel Filloy, Christian Burns and Paul Biligha all played important roles for the Italians in their two victories and are not surprisingly in the 24-man group.
Newcomers to the list are Davide Pascolo, Michele Vitali, Leonardo Candi and Francesco Candussi.
Italy host the Netherlands on February 23 in Treviso and then play Romania in Cluj-Napoca three days later.
| Italy's 24-player squad for February's World Cup Qualifiers | |||
| Awudu Abass | Pietro Aradori | Filippo Baldi Rossi | Paul Stephane Lionel Biligha |
| Christian Charles Burns | Leonardo Candi | Francesco Candussi | Andrea Crosariol |
| Amedeo Della Valle | Ariel Filloy | Diego Flaccadori | Simone Fontecchio |
| Raphael Gaspardo | Alessandro Gentile | Antonio Iannuzzi | David Albright Okeke |
| Davide Pascolo | Achille Polonara | Michele Ruzzier | Giampaolo Ricci |
| Brian Sacchetti | Luca Vitali | Michele Vitali | Andrea Zerini |
Sacchetti's inclusion of Candussi, a 2.11m (7ft) center with SERIE A2 side Dinamica Generale Mantova, shows that he is keeping an eye on talent in Italy's second division.
Candussi, 23, is averaging more than 15 points and 7 rebounds per game in the SERIE A2. He is capable of knocking down shots from long range, having drilled 29 of 78 attempts from deep this season.
Michele Vitali is the younger brother of another squad member, Luca Vitali.
All four newcomers have played at youth level for Italy.
As for the more recognizable names on the 24-man list, Della Valle was especially good in November.
He went from not making Italy's roster the previous two summers to pouring in 16 points against Romania and then erupting for 25 at Croatia. He was 7 of 15 from the arc overall in the two games.
FIBA
