Italy vs Serbia Basketball Preview: Prediction, rosters and more for FIBA World Cup 2023 tune-ups

As the FIBA World Cup 2023 is set to tip-off on August 25th, teams prepare to face off as part of exhibition games first. With Italy taking on heavy-hitters Serbia as part of their preparations, we take a look at some of the details of the match-up.

The Italy vs Serbia game promises to be a captivating spectacle, boasting a roster of exceptional talent from both sides. Scheduled for August 9th, 2023, in Athens, Greece, the game will tip-off at 6:15 PM ET and can be live-streamed on Courtside 1891.

Italy's preparation for the World Cup entails participation in seven friendly matches. Prior to their exhibition games, they hosted the Trent Cup, where they competed against Turkey, China, and Cape Verde. Having beaten Turkey in the first round and then China in the next, Italy have some momentum heading into their exhibition games.

Meanwhile, Serbia is also coming off an impressive win against Greece. With a 71-64 display, the Serbians are also enjoying some positive momentum ahead of their upcoming exhibition games in Athens.

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Italy vs Serbia FIBA World Cup 2023 tune-up game: Predictions

The Italy vs Serbia exhibition game has potential to be an exciting one. Both teams feature some tremendous talent although neiither would necessarily be viewed as contenders in this upcoming World Cup.

Italy is currently ranked 10th in the world. Meanwhile, Serbia is ranked No.6. While both teams are placed in the top 10, the Italians may have a better chance of winning this game.

Serbia will be short one of their best players as Nikola Jokic has been listed out of for the World Cup. Meanwhile, the Italians have been on an absolute roll with several players acting as valuable contributors to their winning effort.

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Italy vs Serbia FIBA World Cup 2023 tune-up game: Rosters

While neither team will feature a major NBA superstar, Italy and Serbia will still have some heavy-hitters on their respective squads. With this in mind, we take a look at the rosters for the upcoming friendly games.

Italy

• Marco Spissu
• Nico Mannion
• Stefano Tonut
• Nicolo Melli
• Simone Fontecchio
• Giampaolo Ricci
• Matteo Spagnolo
• Guglielmo Caruso
• Achille Polonara
• Mouhamet Diouf
• Riccardo Visconti
• Luca Severini
• Gabriele Procida
• Tomas Woldetensae
• Alessandro Pajola
• Luigi Datome

Serbia

• Aleksa Avramovic
• Dusan Beslac
• Bogdan Bogdanovic
• Ognjen Dobric
• Dejan Davidovac
• Ognjen Jaramaz
• Nikola Jovic
• Stefan Jovic
• Vanja Marinkovic
• Nikola Milutinov
• Nemanja Nedovic
• Filip Petrusev
• Aleksej Pokusevski
• Aleksa Radanov
• Dusan Ristic
• Alen Smailagic
• Borisa Simanic
• Nikola Topic
• Uros Trifunovic
• Marko Guduric

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Italy vs Serbia FIBA World Cup 2023 tune-up game: Players to Watch

The upcoming tune-up game between Italy and Serbia will feature some interesting players. While the headliner Nikola Jokic will be sitting out of the FIBA World Cup 2023, there are still some interesting players left on the roster.

Bogdan Bogdanovic

Atlanta Hawks forward Bogdan Bogdanovic will certainly be a player worth keeping an eye on in this upcoming matchup. Bogdanovic didn't necessarily have the best season with the Hawks last year. However, he has proven to be a valuable asset for the Serbian team.

Coming off a performance of 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists against Greece, Bogdanovic will likely be the primary offensive force for Serbia against Italy.

Simone Fontecchio

Simone Fontecchio really burst onto the scene at the 2022 EuroBasket tournament for the Azzurri. After a rather interesting debut season with the Utah Jazz, Fontecchio has shown a lot of promise as a growing player. With a lot of room for development on this Italian team, the marksman will be key to their performance in this FIBA World Cup campaign.

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