ALBA Berlin’s 21-year-old star stepped up in Italy’s road win over Hungary (PHOTO: FIBA).
Gabriele Procida paved the way in Italy victory
Article
2 Mins read
Italy trailed 37-36 at the break in the teams’ EuroBasket 2025 qualifier in Szombathely and needed a spark to turn things around and finish the two-game window with a perfect record. That spark was provided by Gabriele Procida, who scored all of his points in a dominant third quarter, which saw Italy trample Hungary 9-28 en route to a 62-83 victory.
Procida tallied 9 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals as he had a hand in nearly half of Italy’s points in the quarter. He missed his first shot of the quarter, but collected the rebound and fed Amedeo Tessitori for a three-point play. Procida soon added two more baskets, including a fastbreak slam, as the difference reached double figures.
“We were focused, but a little bit tired in the first part of the game and then in the third quarter, we didn’t let them score,” Italy head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco summed up after the game. “Defensively we were really tough and we were fighting on every screen. We put them in trouble. And offensively, we made all the right decisions.”
Alessandro Pajola of Virtus Segafredo Bologna joined Procida on the floor midway through the third quarter and contributed 4 points and 2 assists – including one for a Procida triple – as Italy raced to a 46-64 cushion at the end of the quarter.
Procida finished the game with 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. He wound up leading the team in +/- with +28 in just 25 minutes played. Pajola tallied 9 points, 4 boards and 6 assists in 18:15 minutes. He led the team in performance index rating with 16 and had a +/- of +20.
Tessitori, who plays for Umana Reyer Venice, and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan’s Giordano Bortolani led the Italian attack with 12 points. Tessitori also had a team-high 7 rebounds. Virtus forward Achille Polonara added 10 points. Zoltan Perl paced Hungary with 12 points.