Two players from Sardinian wheelchair basketball teams are also competing at the European Championships, which kick off this weekend in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will pit Italy against Switzerland on Friday. These are Claudio Spanu from Sassari, who, after playing for Anmic and Dinamo Lab, is preparing to do the same with Asinara Waves of Porto Torres, and center Enrico Ghione, captain of Dinamo Lab.
Italy arrives at these European Championships after failing to qualify for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. The coach has changed: Dutchman Gertjan van der Linden has replaced Carlo Di Giusto.
The European Championship begins with a group stage, with two groups of six teams each. Italy is in Group B and will make its debut on Friday, October 10th at 4:30 PM against Switzerland. The following day, at 7:30 PM, it will face the first big match of the European Championship, against reigning champions Great Britain. Then, on October 12th at 7:00 PM, coach van der Linden will face his compatriots from the Netherlands. The final two matches are against France (October 13th at 12:00 PM) and Israel (October 14th at 4:30 PM).
The top four advance to the knockout quarter-finals, drawn cross-over with the top four from Group A, consisting of Germany, Spain, Turkey, Poland, Austria and hosts Bosnia-Herzegovina.