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Lauri Markkanen scores 29 points as Finland shockingly eliminates Serbia in Round of 16 at EuroBasket
The first day of the Round of 16 at FIBA EuroBasket 2025 ended with the tournament's biggest surprise. Heavy favorites Serbia, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, were upset by Finland 92-86 and eliminated. For the second EuroBasket in a row, Serbia's campaign ended in the Round of 16. In 2022, they were knocked out by Italy, 94–86. This means Jokic remains without a EuroBasket medal.
“Hopefully, we can achieve something special with the team. The goal, of course, is to go as far as we can”, Danilo Gallinari told Eurohoops about the expectations of the EuroBasket, with Italy having secured its presence in the Round of 16 and having a chance to finish on top of Group C. And while this is his last tournament with the national team, it’s not necessarily also the end of his career: “I haven’t thought about the end. I thought about the end with the national team, so this is the last summer with the national team. As far as basketball, I don’t know. Now the energy and the focus are with the team game by game, and to do the best we can in this competition”.
Italy had already secured qualification before the tip-off, but the game was a real battle for survival, decided by the young blood of both teams. When all was said and done, Italy got the 67-63 over Spain, which is in danger of ending the Eurobasket in two days. After this result, Italy is tied with Greece with a 3-1 record, which needs to beat Spain in the last round to secure the top spot in the Group C standings. If Spain loses to Greece and Bosnia beats Georgia, then Spain will finish 5th in the standings.
Asked if the game played a role in the signing, Thanasis admitted that it did: “For sure. They were here after the first game against Italy, and they were excited because I was playing defense. I was doing my job, that’s my role. The important thing is that everyone who returns (after such an injury) with a team, or in a tournament like this, has to prove themselves again. That’s basketball. Whatever you have done so far counts; it’s your resume, but you have to prove it every day. That’s professional sports”.
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Simone Fontecchio drops 39 as Italy tops Bosnia in Eurobasket
Ira Winderman: Heat's Simone Fontecchio with a breakout performance for Italy in Sunday's 96-79 EuroBasket victory over Bosnia Herzegovina, closes with 39 points on 13 of 20, including 7 of 10 on 3s, and 8 rebounds. Heat's Larsson (Sweden), Jovic (Serbia) off today.
FIBA EuroBasket: Simone Fontecchio has broken Italy's all-time #EuroBasket scoring record . 39 - Simone Fontecchio | 2025; 36 - Andrea Bargnani | 2011; 33 - Antonello Riva | 1989; 33 - Danilo Gallinari | 2015; 32 - Antonello Riva | 1987
Stopping Antetokounmpo has long been the unsolvable puzzle of European basketball, and Gallinari was honest about the challenge Italy faced: “It’s always difficult to stop him. I think we did a good job, but he’s so hard to guard. We were close a few times to tying the game or going ahead, but against him you need 40 minutes of intensity and energy," Gallinari told BasketNews in a postgame chat.
Despite the defeat, Gallinari refused to panic. His experience told him that tournaments rarely follow a straight line: “The goal for Italy is to get through the group stage. We need to think game by game. It’s only the first game, the road is still long. I’ve been in competitions where we lost the first, won the second, lost the second, won the first—anything can happen. We just need to stay focused on the next one.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo powers Greece over Italy
Giannis Antetokounmpo took over for Greece on the way to a 75-66 victory versus Italy in the opener for both countries in EuroBasket 2025. Logging just over 29 minutes, the 30-year-old superstar finished with 31 points. He made 14/20 two-pointers and 3/4 free throws, alongside seven rebounds, two steals, and one assist. In addition to the Freak, the Milwaukee Bucks were represented in Spyros Kyprianou Arena by general manager Jon Horst, head coach Doc Rivers, and assistants Vin Baker and Darvin Ham.
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Ira Winderman: Heat's Simone Fontecchio closes 1 of 11 for Italy in 75-66 loss to Giannis and Greece at EuroBasket. Fontecchio was 0 for 10 before late 3-pointer. Also had five rebounds, three steals in his 34:03. Giannis with 31 points.
Italy's head coach on how to stop Giannis: 'A friend of mine is a really good sniper'
The question of stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo is among the hot topics of Eurobasket 2025, and Italian national team coach Gianmarco Pozzecco has a very practical solution. “Probably we will do this in the first quarter, so he will not play in the second, third, and fourth quarters”, he said with a straight face before delivering the punch line: “A friend of mine is a really good sniper. This is the only option that we have, I already talked about it with my staff. There’s no other option. To stop his is not possible”. And then of course, he elaborated on a more serious note without opening his cards: “We have to change this kind of mentality and to understand that it would be Italy versus Greece. He is unstoppable in the NBA, and you can imagine we can stop him here? No”.
Simone Fontecchio: The NBA is work, the national team is fun
"The NBA is work, the national team is fun. But without a medal, I wouldn't be happy," says Simone Fontecchio, star of the national team, the only Italian player left in the NBA. It's hard to be happy when you leave an event without a medal. If I said I was happy with a tenth-place finish coming home from the European Championships, I'd be saying a lot...
"Clearly it's a responsibility, but above all it's a privilege. I take it very serenely and happily, honestly, because it's a role I enjoy. Clearly, it doesn't happen to everyone, so I welcome it with a great sense of responsibility, pride, and positivity." At almost thirty, with two young daughters, spending even summers away from family is starting to feel like a burden. But Simone sees the NBA as work, business, and the national team as fun. "Being in a group with these guys I've known for 15 years, representing Italy is still a great experience and makes being away from Rosa and the girls less painful."
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