ROMA (2016 Rio Olympics) - Marco Belinelli is glad to see the back of the 2015-16 NBA season. After getting a taste of the play-offs with his previous two clubs, Chicago and San Antonio, the Italian changed addresses and endured a difficult campaign with a Sacramento side that finished eight wins shy of the post-season.

Even so, Belinelli has been involved in the game long enough to know that something positive can come out of a tough year.

"I think it is possible to learn, even in difficult seasons like that," he said. "It also helped me grow."

Now, Belinelli is fueled by the desire to have some success in the national team shirt. For the first time in his career, he will play in an important international basketball event on home soil, the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Turin.

I still remember the game we played against Spain at the European Championship in Berlin last year. There were so many fans to support us. This is one of the best memories of my life. I can not wait to start the tournament in Turin. - Belinelli

The players are sure to get an extra charge by competing in front of their own fans, although the weight of expectation can sometimes be a burden. Belinelli thinks the Turin crowd is something Italy will use to its advantage against Tunisia and Croatia in Group B.

"I still remember the game we played against Spain at the European Championship in Berlin last year," he said to Gazzetta dello Sport. "There were so many fans to support us. This is one of the best memories of my life. I can not wait to start the tournament in Turin."

Italy beat Spain, the eventual winners of the EuroBasket, in the Group Phase in Germany. Belinelli had one of his greatest games in the national team shirt.

This summer will be different. Belinelli will play for an Italy side that is coached by Ettore Messina.

"This is a great coach who has won everywhere he has been," Belinelli said. "I knew him when I was 15, 16 years old at Virtus [Bologna], and then I had him as an assistant coach in San Antonio. Now it's really a chance (for us) that he is the coach of the national team. I expect a different attitude from the one he had with Spurs, but I am sure he will bring his experience and winning mentality which is what we need."

Italy were not far off from a Semi-Final appearance last year at the EuroBasket. They had an opportunity to beat Lithuania in the Quarter-Finals but came up short short, falling in overtime.

They nevertheless beat the Czech Republic in the following game to clinch a spot in one of the three six-team OQTs and were then awarded the hosting rights of one.

If Italy finish in the top two after their games against Tunisia and Croatia, they will take on a Group A side - Greece, Iran and Mexico in a Semi-Final. The winners of the Semi-Finals will square off with an Olympic berth at stake.

Belinelli has yet to join Italy for the opening of their training camp in Bologna but some players have started showing up to do fitness work under assistant coaches Luca Dalmonte and Francesco Cuzzolin.

One of the players, Marco Cusin, knows some hard work has to be put in in the coming days and weeks but he knows it will be worth it if Italy achieve their aim of reaching the Olympics for the first time since 2004, when they claimed a silver medal.

"The goal is to win the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Turin," Cusin said to FIP.it. "We are now here to get back as soon as possible into the rhythm of the training. There have been changes since last year, we have a new coach and we need to grow further but always with the same mentality: that of never giving up. One feels the pressure around there but it's a good pressure. Playing an Olympics is a dream and we need positive energy to achieve the goal."

FIBA