Supremely confident Gallinari likes Italy's OQT chances

TURIN (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - There are no ifs, ands or buts when it comes to Italy's chances at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Turin in July, at least for Azzurri star Danilo Gallinari.

Greece, Iran and Mexico will trade blows in Group A while Croatia, Italy and Tunisia will do battle in Group B. For Denver Nuggets star Gallinari, there is only going to be one winner.

"We are stronger," he said in an interview with the Italian show Pick and Roll.

We are the team to beat in Turin. We have to win and we have the opportunity to do so in front of our fans. - Gallinari

There is good reason for Gallinari's confidence, his belief that the Italians will make it to Rio de Janeiro for their first Olympic appearance since 2004. That was the year that a team led by coach Carlo Recalcati made a run to the Final before falling to a star-studded Argentina.

Italy were very good on many occasions last summer at the EuroBasket. In their Group Phase game against Spain, they knocked off the eventual champions.

Only an extraordinary, battling effort by Jonas Maciulis and Lithuania denied Italy in the Quarter-Finals. The Baltic side needed overtime but won that game, 95-85. Italy had the last possession in regulation but failed to get a good shot and Lithuania then pulled away in the extra period.

On balance, there were plenty of good moments for Italy in the tournament. They ended up bouncing right back to defeat the Czech Republic in a Classification Round game to seal a place in the OQT.

Since that time, the Italian Basketball Federation has appointed Ettore Messina as coach. Messina, an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, is widely viewed to be the best Italian coach in the game today.

Italy will play several friendly games before they host the OQT. The national team will put on the Trentino Basket Cup, with the Czech Republic, Turkey and China also involved.

They will play in the Bologna Basketball Tournament with the Philippines, Canada and China June 26 and Italy will also stage an event in Biella, where they will face Puerto Rico.

Italy open their OQT campaign on 4 July against Tunisia before squaring off against Croatia the following day. If they finish in the top two of Group B, Italy will advance to a Semi-Final against one of the Group A teams. The Semi-Final winners will ultimately meet with a spot in the Rio de Janeiro Games at stake.

FIBA